What are the symptoms for arthritis? I get pain by knees so much that i have to sleep with legs on pillows and sometimes it's a sharp sting pain that feels if someone are stabbing me with a knife , and also behind my heels are sore if you press on it and sometimes in the morning it's sore to walk and stiff for about half an hour. Could this be arthritis or something else?
-
Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.
Arthritis?
- Thread starter Christi
- Start date
Cat-a-Tonic
Super Moderator
It could be, arthritis is something that happens pretty commonly with IBD. I have arthritis in both hips. If you catch it early, you should be able to treat it with things like physical therapy to slow the progression of the arthritis. So my advice is, go to your doctor and ask for x-rays of the painful joints. My GP was able to diagnose me with hip arthritis with just x-rays, and he referred me to a physical therapist who really helped me. Nowadays my hips are usually feeling okay as long as I've been doing my exercises. Long story short, go to the doctor. 
Good luck and keep us posted on what your doctor says!
Good luck and keep us posted on what your doctor says!
It could definitely be arthritis. Some of the common symptoms of arthritis are morning stiffness, pain that gets better with movement and worse with inactivity and swelling or redness in your joints. Heel and knee pain is common in Spondyloarthritis.
CCFA has a good summary of the various types of arthritis associated with IBD.
http://www.ccfa.org/assets/pdfs/arthritiscomplications.pdf
I would definitely go to a rheumatologist if you can - they specialize in arthritis.
If the arthritis is not advanced enough, it would not show up on an x-ray. So I wouldn't just go and ask for an x-ray, necessarily.
Inflammation is not visible on an x-ray, only damage is. So if the arthritis is new, often it takes a while before it is visible on x-rays (years, sometimes). Rheumatologists often use MRI's to see if there is inflammation (usually they will do x-rays first and if nothing shows up, then an MRI, since MRI's are MUCH more expensive!).
Ice, heat, physical therapy and swimming might help with pain while you're waiting.
CCFA has a good summary of the various types of arthritis associated with IBD.
http://www.ccfa.org/assets/pdfs/arthritiscomplications.pdf
I would definitely go to a rheumatologist if you can - they specialize in arthritis.
If the arthritis is not advanced enough, it would not show up on an x-ray. So I wouldn't just go and ask for an x-ray, necessarily.
Inflammation is not visible on an x-ray, only damage is. So if the arthritis is new, often it takes a while before it is visible on x-rays (years, sometimes). Rheumatologists often use MRI's to see if there is inflammation (usually they will do x-rays first and if nothing shows up, then an MRI, since MRI's are MUCH more expensive!).
Ice, heat, physical therapy and swimming might help with pain while you're waiting.