Taking note of which joints are spared in each form of arthritis is also helpful.
Which of your joints are painful and inflamed?
Here is a list to help you learn more about the different joints involved in each of the different types of arthritis. Identifying the joints involved will help a doctor to make the correct diagnosis.
Take a look at our graphic showing the joints involved in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout.
Distribution of joint involvement in arthritis
Disease | Joints commonly involved | Joints commonly spared |
Gonococcal arthritis | knee, wrist, ankle, hand IP | axial |
Lyme arthritis | knee, shoulder, wrist, elbow | axial |
Rheumatoid arthritis | wrist, MCP, PIP, elbow, glenohumeral, cervical spine, hip, knee, ankle, tarsal, MTP | DIP, thoracolumbar spine |
Osteoarthritis | first CMC, CIP, PIP, cervical spine, thora-columbar spine, hip, knee, first MTP, toe IP | MCP, wrist, elbow, glenohumeral, ankle, tarsal |
Reiter's syndrome | knee, ankle, tarsal, MTP, toe IP, elbow, axial | |
Psoriatic arthritis | knee, ankle, MTP, toe IP, wrist, MCP, hand IP, axial | |
Enteropathic arthritis | knee, ankle, elbow, shoulder, MCP, PIP, wrist, axial | |
Polyarticular gout | first MTP, instep, heel, ankle, knee | axial |
CPPD disease | knee, wrist, shoulder, ankle, MCP, hand IP, hip, elbow | axial |
Sarcoid arthritis | ankle, knee | axial |
Haemochromatosis | MCP, wrist, knee, hip, feet, shoulder |
Joints: IP, interphalangeal; MCP, metacarpophalangeal; PIP, proximal interphalangeal; CMC, carpometacarpal; DIP, distal interphalangeal; MTP, metatarsophalangeal.
- (Source: Arthritis Foundation of SA)
Read more:
Causes of knee pain
How exercise eases knee osteoarthritis