The early symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis mainly include morning stiffness, arthralgia and joint swelling. 1. Morning stiffness: the stiffness of joints and their surroundings after getting up in the morning accounts for more than 95% of patients. It is significant if the duration exceeds 1 hour, and is one of the indicators of disease activity. 2. Arthralgia and tenderness: Arthralgia is often the earliest symptom. The most common parts are wrist, metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal joints, followed by toe, knee, ankle, elbow, shoulder and other joints. Most of them are symmetrical and persistent, but sometimes light and sometimes heavy. Painful joints are often accompanied by tenderness, and pigmentation may appear on the affected joint skin. 3. Arthritis: In the early stage, it is often caused by fluid accumulation in the joint cavity and inflammation of soft tissue around the joint. All affected joints can be swollen. The common parts are the same as those of arthralgia, and they are mostly symmetrical.
