Rheumatoid Arthritis In The Knee: Symptoms And Treatments
More than 1.3 million people in the U.S. have rheumatoid arthritis , which typically starts in the hands and fingers and can later progress to the knees. The resulting joint stiffness, pain, and swelling affecting the knees can restrict movement, potentially impacting quality of life.
To learn more about knee RA, myRAteam spoke with rheumatologist Dr. Iris Navarro-Millán, assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and a National Institutes of Health -funded rheumatology researcher specializing in knee RA.
Because knee RA shares some symptoms with knee osteoarthritis , another form of arthritis, making a diagnosis can be challenging, Dr. Navarro-Millán said. When people with RA start experiencing knee pain, we tend to jump quickly to say, You probably also have osteoarthritis. But it’s very common for with RA to have both.
Many members of myRAteam report late-stage knee pain. Ive had RA for 10 years, but only experienced pain in my knees in the last one or two years, explained one member.
Getting a correct diagnosis, however, has been frustrating for some. My doctor said I dont have RA because its in my knees, yet everything I’ve read said that RA can attack the knees, one member said. Another member added, My rheumatologist was way too quick to assume my knee pain was fibromyalgia and OA, not RA. Im getting a second opinion.
Symptoms Of Arthritis In The Knee
There are many different types of arthritis one can get in their life. In particular to knee arthritis, the two most prevalent types are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis . Osteoarthritis is the more common type of arthritis and is a progressively degenerative condition by which the cartilage is continually worn away. Rheumatoid Arthritis, on the other hand, is an inflammatory condition that can affect a person regardless of age. Rather than a specified area, RA is an autoimmune disease that affects the entire body.
While these are serious issues, if the pain is localized, many may be unable to tell whether or not they are suffering from arthritis proper or another issue such as a simple knee injury. In this article, we are going to help resolve that issue and go over whether you have simply suffered a bruised knee, or may have something considerably more serious.
Treatment Options For Psa
Theres currently no cure for PsA, but there are some great treatments that can improve symptoms and slow the diseases progression. Some popular options include:
- Topical ointments. Topical pain creams and gels can help numb mild discomfort. Just be careful which product you pick alcohol, fragrance, and sulfates can really mess with psoriasis.
- Physical therapy. A physical therapy regimen can help strengthen your knee. This can help reduce pain and increase mobility.
- Corticosteroid injections. These injections can help reduce swelling and pain.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs . Over-the-counter NSAIDs like ibuprofen and acetaminophen can help reduce pain and swelling.
- Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs . Your doc might prescribe DMARDs if your PsA symptoms are severe. These meds suppress your immune system to help control inflammation.
- Surgery. Joint replacement might be your best bet if your knee joints are extremely damaged.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis Of The Knee
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue in several joints of the body, including the knee. It causes inflammation of the synovial membrane, the capsule surrounding the knee joint. Inflammatory cells release substances that break down knee cartilage over time. Rheumatoid arthritis can affect people of any age.
Do I Have Arthritis In My Knee
Dr. Ekaterina Urch, orthopedic surgeon and knee specialist, covers the symptoms, causes, and best treatment options for knee arthritis.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is the result of inflammation in one or more of your joints. This inflammation can cause pain, swelling, and stiffness in various joints within the body and can even lead people to replacing their joints because the arthritis has interfered with their every-day activity level. This can be particularly true with arthritis felt in the knee, one of the more common areas where arthritis can occur. Depending on how bad the pain is, it can interfere with the activities people enjoy and can keep them from pursuing an active life.
What are the different types of arthritis?
Not all types of arthritis are created equal. In fact, there are more than 100 different forms of arthritis. However, the two more common types of arthritis include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis, which is known as a degenerative wear-and-tear type of arthritis, is commonly found in the knee. It is rare for osteoarthritis to be found in younger people. It is more commonly found in people 50 years of age and older.
Why is osteoarthritis causing you so much pain?
Rheumatoid arthritis
Posttraumatic arthritis
Symptoms of knee arthritis:
Other symptoms of knee arthritis:
Nonsurgical treatment for knee arthritis:
Other nonsurgical options to help ease arthritis pain:
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When Knee Pain May Mean Arthritis
Learn about the various causes of knee pain, including different kinds of arthritis.
If you are experiencing pain, swelling and stiffness in the knees, you may have one of the following types of arthritis or related conditions.
Osteoarthritis
The most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown of cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones where they meet to form joints. Without the protective layer, the bones to rub together, causing stiffness, pain and loss of joint movement in the joint. The knee is one of the joints most commonly affected by OA. In knee OA, you may feel a grating sensation when using the joint or a popping or crackling noise.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes the immune system to mistakenly attacks the joints. The result can be joint damage, pain, swelling, inflammation and loss of function. RA commonly affects joints on both sides of the body. If one knee is affected, the other knee is likely affected as well.
Juvenile Arthritis
Juvenile arthritis is the term used to describe types of arthritis that affect children age 16 years old or younger. There are several types of juvenile arthritis that cause knee pain and swelling.
Gout
Reactive Arthritis
Reactive arthritis is a chronic form of arthritis that often occurs following an infection of the genital, urinary or gastrointestinal system. Large joints are often affected, especially the shoulders, hips and knees.
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What Are The Risk Factors For Arthritis
Some factors make you more likely to develop arthritis, including:
- Age: The risk of arthritis increases as you get older.
- Lifestyle: Smoking or a lack of exercise can increase your risk of arthritis.
- Sex: Most types of arthritis are more common in women.
- Weight: Obesity puts extra strain on your joints, which can lead to arthritis.
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Dmards For Rheumatoid Arthritis
People with RA, an auto-immune disease, may need drugs that affect the whole system, and not only the knee joint.
A doctor may recommend one of a new class of drugs, known as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs .
These include:
- tofacitinib
Doctors can also use corticosteroid injections to reduce inflammation in the knee joint. However, these usually offer only short-term pain relief, and long-term use can have adverse effects.
What Is Total Knee Replacement
Total knee arthroplasty comprises a replacement of both the end of the femur bone and a replacement of the top part of the tibia . The procedure also involves placing a plastic spacer between where the cartilage used to be between the femur and the tibia.
In total knee arthroplasty surgery, a surgeon will remove the damaged cartilage and bone, and insert new state-of-the-art metal or plastic joint components to restore normal functioning of the knee.
From 1999 to 2008, total knee replacement procedures in the U.S. more than doubled for the population at large and tripled for people between the ages of 45 to 64. By 2012, surgery for end-stage knee osteoarthritis was performed on almost 660,000 Americans every year.
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Arthritis Pain In Knee
Arthritis pain in knees is one of the most common knee problems.
Indeed, arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the US, and affects millions of people worldwide.
Arthritis simply means “inflammation of the joint” and is characterised by degenerative changes in the bones and cartilage in the knee joint.
Knee arthritis may affect the knee joint between the thigh and shin bones, or the patellofemoral joint between the kneecap and the front of the knee. In some cases, knee arthritis will affect both joints.
Here we will start by looking at what is actually going on in the knee with arthritis and the different types. Then as you continue through the arthritis pain in knee section you will find lots of information such as the
- Common Causes: and risk factors for knee arthritis
- Arthritis Stages: how it progresses
- Treatment Options: including exercises, injections, braces and natural remedies.
What Are Diseases And Conditions That Can Cause Knee Pain And How Are They Treated
Pain can occur in the knee from diseases or conditions that involve the knee joint, the soft tissues and bones surrounding the knee, or the nerves that supply sensation to the knee area. The knee joint is commonly affected by rheumatic diseases, immune diseases that affect various tissues of the body including the joints.
Arthritis is associated with pain and swelling of a joint. The causes of knee joint pain and swelling range from noninflammatory types of arthritis such as osteoarthritis, which is a degeneration of the cartilage of the knee, to inflammatory types of arthritis . Treatment of the arthritis is directed according to the nature of the specific type of arthritis.
Infections of the bone or joint can rarely be a serious cause of knee pain and have associated signs of infection including fever, extreme heat, warmth of the joint, chills of the body, and may be associated with puncture wounds in the area around the knee.
Tumors involving the joint are extremely rare. They can cause problems with local pain.
The collateral ligament on the inside of the knee joint can become calcified and is referred to as Pellegrini-Stieda syndrome. With this condition, the knee can become inflamed and can be treated conservatively with ice packs, immobilization, and rest. Infrequently, it requires a local injection of corticosteroids.
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Osteoarthritis Of The Hand
Osteoarthritis often affects three main areas of your hand:
- the base of your thumb
- the joints closest to your fingertips
- the middle joints of your fingers
Your fingers may become stiff, painful and swollen and you may develop bumps on your finger joints. Over time, the pain may decrease and eventually disappear altogether, although the bumps and swelling can remain.
Your fingers may bend sideways slightly at your affected joints or you may develop painful cysts on the backs of your fingers.
In some cases, you may also develop a bump at the base of your thumb where it joins your wrist. This can be painful and you may find it difficult to perform some manual tasks, such as writing, opening jars or turning keys.
Page last reviewed: 19 August 2019 Next review due: 19 August 2022
Dealing With Knee Arthritis At Home
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What Is Recovery Like After Knee Replacement Surgery
Surgery is the first step on the path to full recovery. Following total knee replacement, most patients go through physical therapy to regain their strength, full functioning, and range of motion.
After surgery, most patients have a fairly quick recovery over the course of several months, and are able to get back to the lifestyle activities they enjoy, including taking a walk with grandchildren, getting back on the golf course, or walking on the beach.
What Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain And Discomfort Feels Like
Rheumatoid arthritis can be like the old box of chocolates adage you never know what youre going to get, according to the blogger Katie Singh, 38, of Austin, Texas. Singh was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she 23 years old. Sometimes it feels like burning, other times it feels like throbbing throbbing so bad that you can’t think about anything else, Singh explains. There are times I’ve almost considered wanting to cut off a foot or a hand, the pain is so excruciating.
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What Causes Osteoarthritis
For most people, joint damage can occur when otherwise healthy joints are exposed to heavy workloads over a long period of time. This leads to joint injuries due to repeated overuse. Frequently performing a particular task or sport or carrying around excess body weight can lead to osteoarthritis. Eventually the joint cartilage, the cushion at the ends of the bones, wears away. As a result, the bones rub together, causing a grating sensation.
Knee Pain At A Glance
- The knee joint has three compartments.
- Causes of knee pain include injury, degeneration, arthritis, infrequently infection, and rarely bone tumors.
- Ligaments within the knee and on the inner and outer sides of the knee stabilize the joint.
- Surgical repair of ligament injury can involve suturing, grafting, and synthetic graft repair.
- Routine X-rays do not reveal meniscus tears, but can be used to exclude other problems of the bones and other tissues.
- The knee joint is commonly involved in rheumatic diseases, immune diseases that affect various tissues of the body including the joints.
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Youve Put On A Few Pounds
As the scale creeps up, you put more pressure on your jointsespecially your knees. In fact, every pound of weight you gain adds three to four pounds of extra weight on your knees, reports WebMD. And a 2016 study found that obesity made it nearly five times more likely a person would develop knee osteoarthritis compared to people at a healthy weight. The good news? You dont have to lose a lot of weight to see a big difference in pain. A separate study from the University of California at San Francisco found that overweight and obese individuals who lost just 5 percent of their body weight saw significant declines in cartilage degeneration. Looking for other ways to protect your joints from arthritis? Try these 12 easy ways to reduce your risksome are as easy as having a cup of tea.
What Are The Parts Of A Joint
Joints get cushioned and supported by soft tissues that prevent your bones from rubbing against each other. A connective tissue called articular cartilage plays a key role. It helps your joints move smoothly without friction or pain.
Some joints have a synovial membrane, a padded pocket of fluid that lubricates the joints. Many joints, such as your knees, get supported by tendons and ligaments. Tendons connect muscles to your bones, while ligaments connect bones to other bones.
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Whats The Difference Between Osteoarthritis And Rheumatoid Arthritis
Arthritis is a general term for conditions that affect the joints and the tissues that surround them. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the two most common types.
Osteoarthritis refers to damage that is caused by overuse of joints, an injury, or excessive body weight. Your risk of developing osteoarthritis increases as you age. This is not the case for rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, in which the body attacks its own healthy tissue. In addition to joint symptoms, people with rheumatoid arthritis may also experience systemic symptoms.
Talk With Others Who Understand
On myRAteam, youll meet other people living with rheumatoid arthritis. More than 142,000 myRAteam members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with RA.
Have you been diagnosed with RA of the knee? Have you found effective ways to treat this condition? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.
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