Inflammatory arthritis patients experience inflammation of the joints along with pain. This article provides information about the symptoms regarding the same.

Inflammatory arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease, is very common in the United States. An autoimmune disease is the one in which the body cannot differentiate between its own tissues and infectious bodies. Therefore, it produces autoantibodies which affect the tissues in an adverse manner. In inflammatory arthritis, the human body treats its own body tissues as foreign elements. Two or more joints of the body are generally affected in this condition. This disorder is caused due to deposition of crystalline substances in joints or by infection of certain bacteria.

Symptoms
A cold or sore throat is generally the precursor of occurrence of the symptoms. In some cases, the symptoms are associated with a condition of emotional stress.

Pain
This is one of the most important and commonly observed symptom. The problem begins with a slight/dull pain. Gradually, the condition worsens, and it turns into chronic pain. The patient experiences joint pain on a daily basis. Over-the-counter medications are prescribed by doctors to reduce the pain. These medications, however, provide temporary relief and are not useful in the long run. The chronic pain usually occurs in different parts of the body such as back, hands, knees, etc.

Stiffness
The movement of joints in the body gets restricted due to stiffness. The effect of stiffness is pronounced in the morning when it takes a while before one can make body movements. It is however, not just in the morning that the joints become stiff. The condition of stiffness may occur anytime and create problems in day-to-day activities. There are however, a few solutions to get rid of stiffness such as using heating pads to alleviate the stiffness. Sitting in a hot bathtub also provides relief.

Swelling
The symptom of joint swelling to some extent, is a combination of both stiffness and pain. The reason behind the swelling of joints is the accumulation of fluids around them. This fluid accumulation along with swelling also restricts the mobility of joints. Swelling may also increase the joint pain. To cure this problem, low-impact exercises are recommended. Heat therapy is also used to reduce the effects of most of the symptoms.

Weakness
Since the body cannot differentiate between external infectious organisms and its own tissues, it causes the degeneration of various parts of the body. Therefore, simple tasks such as holding objects properly and manipulating them becomes difficult.

Pain relief is not a solution or treatment for inflammatory arthritis. It just relieves the body of pain, temporarily by means of pain killers. However, natural medicines which address the root cause of this problem may be considered. Allergy elimination diets which force the body to stop the production of autoantibodies may also be followed. Thus, the aforementioned symptoms may be reduced or at least kept under control with these treatment measures. However, one should always seek expert medical advice before opting for any of the treatments.

Disclaimer: This Buzzle article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.