Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a condition that causes a person’s immune system to attack their joints. This results in joint inflammation that causes the sufferer to experience swelling, pain and other symptoms that may affect the hands, wrists, and feet. Many early warning signs indicate potential RA, allowing early management that prevents joint damage and disability. We’ll discuss some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis below:

1. Joint pain and stiffness
Almost everyone with RA experiences joint pain and stiffness. The pain is most common in the fingers and hands but can affect any of the body’s joints. The pain is most noticeable during the early morning hours, affecting many people as soon as they wake up. Joint pain and stiffness can affect the sufferers’ ability to move, walk, run or do the things they once did to inflammation, tenderness, swelling, and other RA symptoms.

2. Weight loss
Eating when you’re in pain is the last thing that you want to do. Many people experience weight loss when a loss of appetite affects them. Although this symptom is more common as the disease progresses, unexplained weight loss is still a common sign of early RA.

3. Fever
A slight fever is another sign that RA suffers often times experience in combination with other symptoms. Feverish days and nights may occur before other symptoms of this debilitating disease rear their ugly faces.

4. Swollen joints
As a condition affecting the joints, RA often leads to swollen joints. The hands and feet swell more often than other areas of the body when RA is the culprit. Swelling becomes more prominent as the condition progresses but is nonetheless notable early-on by many people.

5. Decreased range of motion
Decreased range of motion early on during RA may cause trouble bending wrists back and forth. It is usually painful for a person suffering from RA. The decreased range of motion worsens as the disease progresses and the sufferer may find that they cannot easily move their arms, legs or feet as it impacts their tendons and ligaments along with the joints.

6. Fatigue
People with RA may feel tired and lack energy well before they experience other symptoms. Chronic fatigue may affect a person’s lifestyle, sex life, and everyday activities. Fatigue alone isn’t a sign of RA, but compiled with other symptoms is very well an indicator that it’s time to visit the doctor.