RA affects more than 1.3 million people in the United States. Yet, symptoms of RA may not show up in your knees until much later, often even years after other symptoms arise. Inflammation caused by RA may last for a long time and worsen over time, eventually resulting in joint damage if the condition is not managed. Let's look at how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may impact your knees, how you can identify the signs of RA, and how you can be diagnosed with RA and treated for it before it does any permanent harm.

How Rheumatoid Arthritis Affects The Knees

The synovial cell lining of your joint is targeted and damaged by your immune system when you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The connective tissue that lines each of your joints comprises synovial cells. Your synovial cells will grow in number due to RA, which will result in thickness and inflammation. The same thing applies to the RA in your knees:

• The synovial membrane that lines your knee joint is the object of immune cells' attention. This barrier guards your cartilage, ligaments, and other structures around your knee joint. Moreover, synovial cells produce synovial fluid, lubricating your joints and further facilitating mobility.
• Your joint will become inflamed, resulting in discomfort and damage to the tissue around the joint. Your ability to move your knee is restricted due to the swelling membrane that takes up more space in your knee region.

The inflammation may cause damage to the cartilage and ligaments found in your knee joints over time. They assist your knees in moving and protect your bones from grinding against one other, and they work in conjunction with the synovial fluid.

Your cartilage will wear away and reveal your bone as it suffers injury over time. In contrast to cartilage, bone has nerve endings that may register pain. When more of your bone is exposed, the bones in your body will begin to rub and grind against one another. This leads to discomfort as well as injury to the bones. The damage to your tissues caused by RA may lead to chronic pain, which is discomfort that lasts for an extended period, can disrupt your equilibrium and stability, and can alter the look of your joints.

Symptoms

Tenderness, soreness, or joint discomfort that worsens when you stand, walk, or exercise is a classic sign of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This item is referred to as a flare. The pain might sometimes vary from dull and throbbing to acute and stabbing. Some of the most prevalent symptoms of RA in your knees might include the following:

• Warmth around your joint, stiffness or locking of your joint, particularly when it is chilly outside or first thing in the morning, weakness or instability of your joint when weight is placed on it
• A difficult time bending or straightening your knee joint strange sounds, such as creaking, clicking, or popping, when you move your joint

Diagnosis

The following is a list of some of the diagnostic procedures that a doctor or other healthcare practitioner could use to determine whether or not you have RA in your knees:

Physical Examination

During a physical examination, your doctor can have you sit down and watch them inspect your leg while it is extended. They could lay their palm on your knee to feel any crepitus, or grinding, in the joint and any friction in the tendons and ligaments. Your doctor may ask you to put weight on the joint in question as they listen for any grinding or other strange sounds. In addition to this, they could inquire about your symptoms, as well as your general health and past medical conditions.

Blood Tests

Inflammation is reflected in increased protein levels throughout the body, and tests for C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate may provide light on this. Inflammation raises levels of many proteins, which are measured by both assays.

Imaging Tests

To gain a better look at your joint, your doctor may employ imaging tests such as:

• The fluid in your knee and any inflammation may be seen on an ultrasound. Sometimes, in very challenging circumstances, they are used to direct the drainage of fluids.
• X-rays can reveal general damage, abnormalities, or changes in the shape and size of your joint and joint space.
• MRIs provide high-resolution pictures that can be seen in three dimensions (3D) and can determine whether or not there is damage to the bones or tissues in a joint.