Symptom 2. Morning Stiffness: A Common Early Indicator of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Morning stiffness is another common early symptom of rheumatoid arthritis. As you wake from a night of rest, your body should feel refreshed and limber. However, RA paints a different morning picture, one filled with stiffness and discomfort.
This stiffness is not the familiar rigidity that follows a poor night’s sleep or strenuous exercise. It’s a lingering stiffness, one that stubbornly refuses to lift for at least an hour after waking. In more severe cases, this stiffness can last even longer, persisting for several hours into the day.
A notable characteristic of morning stiffness in RA is its symmetrical occurrence. Just as with joint pain, the stiffness tends to affect the same joints on both sides of the body. This symmetry is a significant clue pointing towards rheumatoid arthritis.
Interestingly, the severity of morning stiffness doesn’t necessarily correlate with the degree of joint pain. You may experience severe stiffness with mild pain, or vice versa. This disconnect emphasizes the unique nature of each symptom in RA.
To round off, morning stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis often has a cyclical pattern, much like joint pain. There may be periods of relief, followed by intervals of enhanced stiffness. These cycles of ‘ebb and flow’ are further indicators of the underlying disease process at work. (2)