Arthritis is a condition where there is inflammation of the joints. There are various causes of arthritis and there are also various types of arthritis. This disease occurs generally after the age of 40 years.

One might suspect that he/she has got arthritis with the signs and symptoms of arthritis that are as enumerated below:

1. The occurrence of constant joint pain.

2. There will be tenderness or pain in a joint which gets provoked due to activity or movement. These movements are while walking, then getting up from a chair, while writing, typing or holding an object, throwing a ball or turning a key.

3. Any occurrence of inflammation that is indicated by the swelling of joints or stiffness, redness, and/or warmth.

4. Deformity in joints that causes sever pain.

5. There is loss of range of activity or elasticity or flexibility in a joint.

6. There will be an unexplained loss of weight.

7. Extreme tiredness, energy loss and thereby the feeling of weakness or a feeling of depression

8. Occurrence of fever without any specific reason or cause.

9. Bones will develop tenderness.

Apart from the above mentioned symptoms, there are some regular signs that indicate the occurrence of Arthritis.

1. While exercising there will be intense pain and accompanied with an uneasy feeling.

2. If there is stiffness in one or more joints during morning then that typically drops after 15 to 30 minutes of movement and this is taken as an early sign.

3. An Evaluation of the troubled joint for the range of motion. Does the joint creak or cause pain when one bends it to its normal limits? This indicates arthritis.

4. Whether the skin is pulled or stretched tight over a joint due to swelling? Whether the stretch to sever or not? These symptoms thus get indicated due to joint swelling and also due to either osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

5. Temperature of the swollen joints to be checked. For instance it is necessary to check and test the right knee joint by placing one hand on the right knee and one on the left knee, and then feel for the temperature variation between the two. The hot joints can be a sign of rheumatoid arthritis, gout or joint infection and the cold ones are bone-hard joints are right to be a sign of osteoarthritis.

6. Whether the joint pain is connected with fever or visible swelling is to be checked. These are the signs of rheumatoid arthritis or joint infection.

7. Attention to be paid if the joints have a rough sensation, such that they seem to split and make noise when moving. In osteoarthritis, irritated cartilage and bones rub together, making a grating sound.