Most patients with RA are women between the ages of 20 and 50 years old. This can cause cartilage, bone and tendon damage. The most common symptoms reported by patients are morning stiffness lasting longer than 15-20 minutes, fatigue, and redness, warmth and swelling of the joints. This can occur in the hands, feet, shoulders, elbows, knees, and hips. Motion of these joints is limited and physical deformities may develop.
Some patients develop nodular swellings on the forearms called rheumatoid nodules.
There may be inflammation in other areas of the body including the linings around the lungs, causing chest pain, or the nerves, leading to numbness and tingling of the feet. X-rays of the joints may show joint space narrowing, areas of joint damage called erosions, and at times, bone deformities.