Why are my joints sore?

Symptoms:

You’ve got an illness »

which feels like flu with a sore throat and cough, but also pain in your joints and a fever.

You’ve had skin »

psoriasis for several years now and you’ve developed pain and swelling in the joints of your hands and feet. You get flare-ups which settle after a few weeks.

You’re middle-aged »

and you wake up each morning with stiffness in the joints of your hands, the first joints in your fingers are swollen and tender.

It could be:

A virus. Viruses such as »

glandular fever and viral hepatitis quite commonly cause inflammation in the joints which is usually self-limiting and gets better in a few weeks.

Psoriatic arthritis which »

affects up to one in five people with the skin condition psoriasis, one or more of your joints become swollen, stiff and difficult to move.

Rheumatoid arthritis »

which often starts off in the hands, feet and wrists. The pain may come and go with long periods between attacks but it can leave you feeling unwell and tired.

Stop it:

See your doctor to confirm »

the diagnosis and have tests to exclude anything serious. Take NSAIDs for the pain and inflammation in your joint. See your doctor for a check-up if the arthritis doesn’t subside.

Flare-ups need rigorous »

treatment so contact your doctor or specialist for treatment to bring the arthritis under control.

This is an autoimmune »

disease and you need specialist treatment, so speak to your doctor about tests and referral to a rheumatologist. We now have drugs that can stop inflammation and prevent the arthritis getting worse, often called disease-altering drugs.