I'm wondering if anyone else has suffered severe knee pain when exposed to the cold....and wondering what causes it? I have had RA for 14 years but this is new to me.
thanks, pat
Hi Trish, I've had bilateral knee pain for the last year and half due to a combo of RA/PA/OA. Besides having the inflammation, pain, swelling of RA I have no cartledge left due to OA and also have spurs in both knees. There are many reasons for knee pain and you should talk with your RD or primary and have xrays done of both knees. Right now I'm facing knee replacements. The damage to my knees occurred with 2 years time. It moved very quickly, so don't wait. I have suffered knee pain on and off with RA over the years but it has got progressively worse lately especially if the weather is damp. My knees go very red but arent hot to touch, they also get very spongyPat;
I've had RA for officially 13 years now. I have always experienced trouble with my knees; but recently with increased problems with my right knee my RD ordered an MRI. It revealed OA and I do think it's a different type of pain. This might be the case with you also. Does it only affect one or the other? You could have some sort of injury that you don't realize. Definately report the new pain to your doctor.
Ditto to everything said above.
Knees are one of our most vulnerable spots. The inflammation from RA increases the opportunity for OA to set in and destroy the cartilege. The synovial membranes become inflamed from RA. The bone takes on a rice consistency. Then the tendons can tear or swell. You can get bursitis. Then all the mechanics can go screwy causing problems with the adjoining muscles such as contractures in your muscles.
And, cold weather is going to make all of this hurt. My knees just kind of went all of a sudden. I went from walking fine to not able to hardly get around at all. The sooner you see your doctor, the better. Insist on xrays and MRIs. MRIs are important because they show soft tissue damage that will not be revealed on a xray.
The options if you have damage are: Synvisc or cortisone shots, physical therapy, arthoscopic surgery or knee replacements depending on the damage. But the earlier you catch it the better chances you have of less damage.
Sorry you hurt. Try sitting under an electric blanket in the meantime, rub in sports creme or use a heating pad. Some people find that ice gives them more relief.
I'm with the other ones. Tell your doctor! Don't wait! I waited and had alot of damange to my knees. OA will cause pain when the weather changes. If I had listen to my body and gotten help sooner for my knees, than I wouldn't be having such a hard time recovering from my total knee replacement. Plus the surgeon wouldn't have to place a extra thick liner inbetween the metal knee replacement parts and I wouldn't have been on that table for all of that extra time.
Please, get it checked and the sooner the better.
Marisa~
Did your OA develope after years of having RA? Curious as to what I should expect.
I suspect I have it in both knees.....but I've only had the MRI on one of them. I did have some major sugery on this particular knee when I was 13 due to a growth problem. That might have contributed to it; but I imagine it's from year of RA. Curious as to your experience.
How many years did you have problems before the surgery?
Marisa, can you explain the "extra thick liner" that was used. Since I'm facing knee replacement I'm trying to gather info. Thanks.Lindy; you might can answer those same questions posed to Marisa.
Is your replacement due to OA? Which did you have first? RA or OA? Do you think RA caused the OA?
I guess that's one of my questions - which comes first, RA or OA? I haven't been diagnosed with RA yet, but have a rapidly expanding list of joints with OA. It keeps spreading so fast, and there's so much damage, that's what makes me wonder if there's something systemic that is starting the process, as Deanna said, inflamming the joints and then OA destroy's the cartilege? I expected to get OA as I aged, but never expected things to happen quite this young (48) or reach the level of "severe" so rapidly.Oooh! Oooh! Deanna raises her hands excitedly. I know some of these answers. (I don't know how you guys put up with me.)
OA was diagnosed first in my knees, but I already RA. OA shows up as bone that is roughened and the space between the joint begins to disappear. RA shows up in the synovial tissues as being inflamed. You also can develop bone spurs and bone cysts (mine in my shoulder looks like a perfectly round marble). Also in the bone, RA shows up as something called ricing or something like that where it is actual rice like quality to the bone. That's part of what they are going to clean up arthoscopically.
Because your RA weakens your muscles and joints both, it affects your tendons over time other problems develop. As the joint weakens in the knee, you get that bone on bone pain of OA. Then, I tore the menicus in my left knee and the patellar ligament in my right knee. The last one I did by moving my knee two inches under my desk at work. It made a loud popping noise. That's why you have to watch it like a hawk and do whatever you are capable of to maintain muscle tone.
Absolutely do not let your doctor ignore joint pain. My Rheumy didn't listen to me about my shoulder for a year until the damage was severe.
There's some good sites that explain it:
http://www.hipnknee.org/knee/knee_index.htm
http://www.oralchelation.com/calcium/DegenerativeKneeJoint/i ndex.htm
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/booklet/view_report.cfm?Thread_ID= 8&topcategory=Knee
The other reason you want to stay on top of your joints is that one of the side effects of long term prednisone use is bone necrosis (or bone death). That's really bad. That's what they are worried about with me as I've been on prednisone for a long time. However, people react to prednisone differently and less of an exposure in one person can be more damaging than in another.
One thing that seems to have changed in just the last four years is what they can do arthoscopically now that they used to have to either make a major incision or do a knee replacement for. Here's one area that they have made a great deal of progress in and that's very encouraging.
That's an excellent explanation. Thanks Deanna!
Lovie, I had OA for years and in just the last year, RA. I've had joint problems since I was a kid. The knee trouble is partly caused from my fused hip joint and years of overweight. I had a funny walk as the fused hip leg was shorter than the other. Plus all of the hours that I would stand on my feet at work lifting, pulling, and muscling things around weren't good for my joints.
Lindy, The extra thick liner was used because of the way I walk. The liner is normal size on one side and gets thicker as it gets progresses to the other side. Have seen them when doing the total joint trays but didn't know what they were used for. The doctor said that it would even me out as I walk. I've noticed that my foot has gotten straighter and my shoes feel different when walking. God, what they can do!!!
Hope that the knee pain is less as this new year begins.
Do any of you suffer pain in your hips with RA? I have terrible left hip painI've had a lot of hip pain over the years myself. A shot of cortisone will take care of that real quick...takes care of a lot of stuff for that matter. If it continues you might want to quetion your doctor about that.
I can be related to RA....but there are other conditions that can cause it as well.
Thanks for the info Marisa. I had one leg longer than the other myself as a child. At age 13 I had surgery to correct the problem. I think that might contribute to my OA now. Who knows?
Just like knees, hips is a big problem area. And, you want to make sure your hip remains stable. If you start to lose balance, that's a big worry because a broken hip can be very hard to recover from.
I have minor problems with my hips. Roxy has major ones. My right hip acted like it was going to collapse on me a couple of years ago, I nearly fell at work. It had been raining, so the joint was swollen and when swollen they are weaker.
But the whole situatio was so embarassing. They had an onsite nurse who literally chased me down with a wheelchair and made me go home from work.
They were worried about bone necorsis so they did a MRI. Fortunately it was only a little fluid on the hip (it's still very painful). When the weather gets could and wet, my hips both ache and I do use the cane to counteract the weakness in that hip. So, a cane can be very helpful. But you should get it checked out. PT and exercises can really do wonders for your hips although if you are having major problems that may be difficult. Fortunately, if it gets bad enough to have a hip replacement this is one of the best joint surgeries you can have. This partly because they do so many of them and also the joint is large and easier to fix than an elbow or hands.
Do try and keep that hip warm. If you are really worried or in a lot of pain, get in to see the Doc right away. Otherwise, just bring it up the next appointment. Stability, though, is key. And trudging around in the snows of Montana makes being safe even more difficult. I would rather be safe than sorry with that joint.
Does the RA attack the hip joint too because I was thinking it only picked onWhen I went to the back specilist and he dx'ed RA in my back; he explained that it usually starts in the smaller joints like the hands and feet....but eventually attachs the larger ones like the hips and back areas after years with the disease.
I don't really know how much I believe that explanation though because I had a lot of problems with my hips early on. Only over the last few years in my back though.
It isn't as common though as some might think Lorster...you are right about that.
I think as a general rule of thumb, your doc is right Lovie. I did start with the small joints, and it has progressed into the larger ones. That's not to say it's like that with EVERYONE. Hardly any part of this disease is that predictable. Would be nice though, wouldn't it - to be able to go "alright, my knees will be next" and always be right. Heh.