Diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis as well as other autoimmune diseases are not easy to diagnose. Doctors may find difficulty in diagnosing especially in its early stage because there are not certain criteria to follow in diagnosing. Rheumatoid arthritis shares many symptoms with other inflammatory diseases so rheumatologists should consider not to get mistaken with them. People should take into consideration that early diagnosis help significantly in avoiding osteoporosis, joint erosion, and many irreversible complications. Then, how doctors diagnose rheumatoid arthritis? Doctors usually more than one method to diagnose accurately, these methods include:
1) Physical examination
Physical examination is the most important and critically indispensable method of diagnosis. Doctors always examine the affected joint carefully, he observes its range of motion and degree of tenderness to evaluate the state of damage. The patient’s good presentation of the symptoms guides the doctor greatly. The degree of pain and joint deformity help rheumatologist determine the stage of arthritis. Physicians depend primarily on the clinical manifestations and his observation to limit the probable disorders considering the most common ones.
