sudden severe joint pain with marked redness, warmth, or swelling, especially if you also feel unwell or have a fever.
The Bottom Line
The seven signs worth remembering are persistent joint pain, morning stiffness, swelling, warmth or redness, reduced movement, difficulty performing everyday activities, and fatigue accompanying multiple affected joints. Having one or more of these symptoms doesn’t automatically mean you have arthritis. But persistent symptoms shouldn’t simply be blamed on age. There are many different types of arthritis, and identifying the specific cause is important because treatments differ. A