Question
Hi, I am 23 years old and I live a very active lifestyle, exercising, running...etc but lately something has been slowing me down. The first thing I noticed was that my knuckles especially in my finger areas are constantly making a cracking noise whenever I bend them. Another problem I've been having has been with my right shoulder and elbow. Everytime I'm in an air conditioned room I start to experience pain that even starts to prevent me from bending my arm.   I also have experienced other problems with this arm. Whenever I have to place it on the table I would feel this sharp pain rush up into my hand area and sometimes when I have to do heavy lifting or even have to grip something for long periods of time my right arm especially below the elbow area would feel kind of a numbing type of pain. Do I have some kind of arthritis or am I too young to be experiencing this ?

Answer
Dear Michael,   You are not to young to have arthritis, but it could also be muscle related....  To find out if you have Rheumatoid Arthritis you need blood work and x-rays....  To find out if you have Osteoarthritis you should have a MRI done of the most painful and debilitating area (elbow or shoulder)...

thank you,   karen