Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of Mild ArthritisMild Arthritis SymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentPrognosisCopingFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types of Mild Arthritis
Mild Arthritis Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prognosis
Coping
Frequently Asked Questions
Mild arthritis is not an actual diagnosis, but rather a description of symptoms. When we think ofarthritis, we usually think of debilitating joint pain and joint deformity. However, not all cases and types of arthritis will result in these severe symptoms. In fact,arthritis symptomscan range from mild to severe.
If arthritis is caught and diagnosed early, treatment can help slow disease progression and keep mild arthritis from becoming severe.
This article discusses mild arthritis symptoms and causes, different types of arthritis, and mild arthritis treatments.
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There are more than 100 different kinds of arthritis, and each can vary in severity.Healthcare providers utilize many tools to determine how progressive your type of arthritis is, including laboratory tests, X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound.
The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis(OA) is a form of degenerative arthritis that worsens over time due to the aging process or overuse of a joint. Lifestyle adjustments can help slow the progression of this type of arthritis and help you keep the condition in a mild state.
Rheumatoid arthritis(RA), on the other hand, is often more severe and painful and affects joints on both sides of the body. Unlike osteoarthritis, RA is anautoimmune diseasein which the immune system attacks the lining of the joints, called thesynovium. The inflammation becomes progressively worse, but medications likedisease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs(DMARDs) can be used to slow the progression of the disease.
Other types of arthritis include ankylosing spondylitis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, infectious arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma.
Different Types of Arthritis and Pain Characteristics
Arthritis Grades
Sometimes scales are used to rank symptoms. The Kellgren-Lawrence scale, which follows, is one such scale that traditionally is used to assess the severity of just one type of arthritis, radiographicknee osteoarthritis:
Symptoms of mild arthritis vary based on the type of arthritis you have. Common mild arthritis symptoms include:
In most cases of mild arthritis, you will have noticeable pain, soreness, or stiffness, but these problems likely won’t keep you from going about your day. You may have to make adjustments to how you do things, but you probably aren’t experiencing any major disabilities.
Any type of arthritis can appear in a mild form, but certain types are more likely to stay mild or become more severe.
Mild RA is the least severe form of rheumatoid arthritis. At this stage, people will experience intermittent pain, stiffness, and swelling. However, the lack of severity and infrequency of symptoms also make a diagnosis at this stage difficult and can delay treatment.
Factors that contribute to osteoarthritis include age, injury, genetics, being overweight or obese, and repetitive stress on joints. People who work in jobs that require a lot of kneeling, bending, or climbing stairs may be more likely to develop osteoarthritis. Athletes are also at a higher risk for osteoarthritis due to the risk of injury, which can lead to future osteoarthritis.
Causes and Risk Factors of Arthritis
Typically, the following will signal more severe forms of arthritis:
How Arthritis Is Diagnosed
Early diagnosis and treatment are key to effectively managing arthritis and slowing its progression.
Reasons to Wear Arthritis Gloves
Lifestyle Changes
With OA and RA, making positive lifestyle changes can help reduce symptoms or slow disease progression. Reducing the strain placed on joints can slow the progression of OA, while reducing the lifestyle factors associated with increased disease activity in RA helps with this inflammatory form of arthritis. Beneficial lifestyle changes for OA and RA include:
Medications
Depending on the type of arthritis you have, your healthcare provider may also prescribe a number of medications for your arthritis. For osteoarthritis, your practitioner may recommend:
For rheumatoid arthritis, your healthcare provider may recommend:
How Arthritis Is Treated
Disease progression depends a lot on the lifestyle changes you make, medications you take, and the type of arthritis you have. RA is more likely than OA to advance to a severe stage. With early RA, natural remission was estimated to take place in 10% of cases in one study.
In another study that followed early RA patients for 10 years, 94% of those patients managed daily life activities independently and 20% had almost no disability. Early recognition and intervention are key to slowing the progression of arthritis. By doing so, people with arthritis can prevent their condition from worsening and keep long-term complications at bay.
When to See a Healthcare ProviderYou should make an appointment with your healthcare provider if you experience the following symptoms:Pain, swelling, or stiffness in more than one joint at a timeJoint tenderness or pain that lasts for more than three daysJoints that are red or feel hot to the touchJoint pain or weakness that leads to buckling or locking
When to See a Healthcare Provider
You should make an appointment with your healthcare provider if you experience the following symptoms:Pain, swelling, or stiffness in more than one joint at a timeJoint tenderness or pain that lasts for more than three daysJoints that are red or feel hot to the touchJoint pain or weakness that leads to buckling or locking
You should make an appointment with your healthcare provider if you experience the following symptoms:
Chronic disease can be difficult to manage because it never goes away. You may experience periods of relief, but you will also have periods where the pain becomes much worse, especially during RA flares. Coping with a chronic disease like arthritis can be physically difficult, but also mentally, emotionally, and financially draining.
Here are a few tips to help you deal with arthritis symptoms:
Summary
If you have joint pain that comes and goes, you may have a mild form of arthritis. Lifestyle changes and a healthy diet can help slow the progression of some forms of arthritis and reduce your pain. Depending on what type of arthritis you have, medications can also slow disease progression.
Because early treatment can make a dramatic difference in how you feel later in life, be sure to check in with your healthcare provider if you start experiencing minor joint pain, stiffness, or swelling. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best ways to keep your arthritis from progressing to a more severe level.
The symptoms of mild arthritis may come and go, but the condition itself will not go away.
It depends. Sometimes arthritis can start out mild and progress slowly over years. Other times, arthritis symptoms can ramp up quickly. If you suspect you have arthritis, see a rheumatologist for a diagnosis. If the doctor determines you have an autoimmune type of arthritis, medications can slow the progression of the disease.
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Arthritis basics.Kohn MD, Sassoon AA, Fernando ND.Classifications in brief: Kellgren-Lawrence classification of osteoarthritis.Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2016;474(8):1886-1893. doi:10.1007/s11999-016-4732-4Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arthritis diagnosis.Arthritis Foundation.Slowing Osteoarthritis Progression.Wu Y, Goh EL, Wang D, Ma S.Novel treatments for osteoarthritis: an update.Open Access Rheumatol. 2018;10:135-140. doi: 10.2147/OARRR.S176666.Bullock J, Rizvi SAA, Saleh AM, et al.Rheumatoid arthritis: A brief overview of the treatment.Med Princ Pract. 2019;27(6):501-507. doi:10.1159/000493390Harvard Medical School.Explain the pain—Is it osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis?Arthritis Foundation.When it’s time to see a doctor for joint pain.Polinski KJ, Bemis EA, Feser M, Seifert J, Demoruelle MK, Striebich CC, Brake S, O’Dell JR, Mikuls TR, Weisman MH, Gregersen PK, Keating RM, Buckner J, Nicassio P, Holers VM, Deane KD, Norris JM.Perceived stress and inflammatory arthritis: A prospective investigation in the studies of the etiologies of rheumatoid arthritis cohort.Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020 Dec;72(12):1766-1771. doi:10.1002/acr.24085Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Rheumatoid arthritis.
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Arthritis basics.Kohn MD, Sassoon AA, Fernando ND.Classifications in brief: Kellgren-Lawrence classification of osteoarthritis.Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2016;474(8):1886-1893. doi:10.1007/s11999-016-4732-4Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arthritis diagnosis.Arthritis Foundation.Slowing Osteoarthritis Progression.Wu Y, Goh EL, Wang D, Ma S.Novel treatments for osteoarthritis: an update.Open Access Rheumatol. 2018;10:135-140. doi: 10.2147/OARRR.S176666.Bullock J, Rizvi SAA, Saleh AM, et al.Rheumatoid arthritis: A brief overview of the treatment.Med Princ Pract. 2019;27(6):501-507. doi:10.1159/000493390Harvard Medical School.Explain the pain—Is it osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis?Arthritis Foundation.When it’s time to see a doctor for joint pain.Polinski KJ, Bemis EA, Feser M, Seifert J, Demoruelle MK, Striebich CC, Brake S, O’Dell JR, Mikuls TR, Weisman MH, Gregersen PK, Keating RM, Buckner J, Nicassio P, Holers VM, Deane KD, Norris JM.Perceived stress and inflammatory arthritis: A prospective investigation in the studies of the etiologies of rheumatoid arthritis cohort.Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020 Dec;72(12):1766-1771. doi:10.1002/acr.24085Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Rheumatoid arthritis.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Arthritis basics.Kohn MD, Sassoon AA, Fernando ND.Classifications in brief: Kellgren-Lawrence classification of osteoarthritis.Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2016;474(8):1886-1893. doi:10.1007/s11999-016-4732-4Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arthritis diagnosis.Arthritis Foundation.Slowing Osteoarthritis Progression.Wu Y, Goh EL, Wang D, Ma S.Novel treatments for osteoarthritis: an update.Open Access Rheumatol. 2018;10:135-140. doi: 10.2147/OARRR.S176666.Bullock J, Rizvi SAA, Saleh AM, et al.Rheumatoid arthritis: A brief overview of the treatment.Med Princ Pract. 2019;27(6):501-507. doi:10.1159/000493390Harvard Medical School.Explain the pain—Is it osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis?Arthritis Foundation.When it’s time to see a doctor for joint pain.Polinski KJ, Bemis EA, Feser M, Seifert J, Demoruelle MK, Striebich CC, Brake S, O’Dell JR, Mikuls TR, Weisman MH, Gregersen PK, Keating RM, Buckner J, Nicassio P, Holers VM, Deane KD, Norris JM.Perceived stress and inflammatory arthritis: A prospective investigation in the studies of the etiologies of rheumatoid arthritis cohort.Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020 Dec;72(12):1766-1771. doi:10.1002/acr.24085Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Rheumatoid arthritis.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Arthritis basics.
Kohn MD, Sassoon AA, Fernando ND.Classifications in brief: Kellgren-Lawrence classification of osteoarthritis.Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2016;474(8):1886-1893. doi:10.1007/s11999-016-4732-4
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Arthritis diagnosis.
Arthritis Foundation.Slowing Osteoarthritis Progression.
Wu Y, Goh EL, Wang D, Ma S.Novel treatments for osteoarthritis: an update.Open Access Rheumatol. 2018;10:135-140. doi: 10.2147/OARRR.S176666.
Bullock J, Rizvi SAA, Saleh AM, et al.Rheumatoid arthritis: A brief overview of the treatment.Med Princ Pract. 2019;27(6):501-507. doi:10.1159/000493390
Harvard Medical School.Explain the pain—Is it osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis?
Arthritis Foundation.When it’s time to see a doctor for joint pain.
Polinski KJ, Bemis EA, Feser M, Seifert J, Demoruelle MK, Striebich CC, Brake S, O’Dell JR, Mikuls TR, Weisman MH, Gregersen PK, Keating RM, Buckner J, Nicassio P, Holers VM, Deane KD, Norris JM.Perceived stress and inflammatory arthritis: A prospective investigation in the studies of the etiologies of rheumatoid arthritis cohort.Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020 Dec;72(12):1766-1771. doi:10.1002/acr.24085
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Rheumatoid arthritis.
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