1. Osteoarthritis usually develops slowly and most commonly in weight bearing joints. Early in the disease, joints may ache after physical work or exercise.
2. Common signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis include joint pain, swelling, and tenderness.
3. X rays are often used in combination with other methods to diagnose osteoarthritis. However, x rays are limited in their capacity to reveal how much joint damage may have occurred, and they do not usually show osteoarthritis damage until significant cartilage loss occurs.
4. Common signs of osteoarthritis include joint pain, stiffness after getting out of bed, and a crunching feeling or sound of bone rubbing on bone. Fever is not a symptom of osteoarthritis.
5. Osteoarthritis usually comes on slowly and can occur in any joint. Most often, it occurs in the hands, hips, knees, low back, or neck. Not everyone with osteoarthritis feels pain, however. In fact, only a third of people with x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis report pain or other symptoms.
