ALLAN GIBOFSKY, MD: Generally, the first sign of arthritis - the first symptom of arthritis, I should say - is pain. Pain in or around the joint, or pain in a bone, pain in a muscle, pain in a soft tissue structure like a ligament or a tendon. Generally, that's what people understand when they think they have arthritis. That's generally what causes them to seek attention for it. The problem is that unfortunately there is a culture, perhaps fostered in part by some advertising that we've seen in the past that arthritis is not a serious disease, that pain can be treated with simple aspirin. That's not always the case.
The kinds of conditions that cause arthritis often require much more treatment than what might be available over the counter. That's why it's important for people to have these kind of problems to see a physician early.
One last point I would make is that it's also important to understand that there are forms of arthritis diseases that cause symptoms other than arthritis. There are forms of other diseases that cause arthritis.
For example, people with bowel disease may have joint pain. People with joint pain may have problems with their eyes or problems with their heart. So it's very important to tease out or differentiate those conditions that can cause arthritis that are not of the joint, and those conditions that are arthritis causing things to happen outside the joint.
DAVID MARKS, MD: Give me an example of when a person should be concerned that their arthritis is caused by some systemic disease.
ALLAN GIBOFSKY, MD: I think that whenever someone has arthritis, they should be thinking not just of their joint, but of other things that could cause it as well.
