Most people who experience symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) have joint pain, limited mobility and stiffness. Many experience stiffness when they wake in the morning, which usually lasts no more than 30 minutes. Stiffness that lasts an hour may be a symptom of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Joints may become sore when used after periods of inactivity or after exercise. Pain that occurs during activity or exercise usually is relieved by rest.

Patients may experience crepitus, a grating, grinding or crackling sound or sensation in joints affected by OA. Crepitus can be painless or painful.

Symptoms of OA vary, depending on the joints affected. Some of the main symptoms, grouped according to joints, include:

• Fingers. May include pain, swelling or enlargement of finger joints. Bone spurs called Heberden's nodes (in end joints) and Bouchard's nodes (in middle joints) may also appear. People may experience difficulty with fine-motor movements such as picking up items or gripping a pen.
  
  
• Spine. In the spine, growths on or around the intervertebral discs may cause pain or pressure on nerves. This may be experienced as pain or stiffness in the neck, arms, lower back or legs. Pinched nerves may produce numbness in the arms or legs. As OA affects the spine, it may lead to other complications such as spinal stenosis, a narrowing of spinal canal.
  
  
• Hips. May cause pain in the groin, buttocks or thighs. Hip pain may also cause limping. OA in the hip may cause referred pain, which originates in the hip but is felt in the knee, thigh or lower back.
  
  
• Knees. May cause knee pain while moving, walking, using stairs or rising from a chair. OA in the knee may produce a slipping sensation, as if there is no support in the leg. It can also produce creaking or grating sounds when the knee moves.
  
  
• Feet and ankles. May cause pain and swelling in the feet, especially the joint at the base of the big toe. It may also cause foot pain while wearing high heel or tight shoes that was not previously experienced with those types of shoes.

For thousands of years, people have perceived a connection between the onset of arthritic pain and changes in weather (usually approaching rain). Such changes were noted as early as 400 B.C. by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. Although many people acknowledge a connection, the studies conducted on the phenomenon have not yielded definitive results. These studies may not be representative because they had small groups of subjects and relied on self-reporting methods. Still, many individuals with OA report an increase amount of pain and stiffness before or during a change in weather.