Rheumatoid arthritis causes joint pain and swelling, typically in the hands, fingers, and wrists on both sides of the body. Joints feel warm and stiff, especially in the morning. Symptoms come and go in flare-ups, or can become persistent over time.
The main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, or ra, are pain and decreased range of motion in the affected joints. One of the defining characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis is it affects the same joint bilaterally on both sides of the body, and more commonly affects the hands, the fingers, and wrists. Those are the most common, but it can also affect the upper and the lower extremities, as well as the neck and the shoulders too. The joints that are affected are usually warm, they are swollen and are often very stiff in the mornings. Especially, symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis may include periods of remission with periods of flare ups, and it may progress to symptoms that do not go back into remission but are constant.
