There are hundreds of diseases that can cause joint pain similar to that experienced by rheumatoid arthritis patients. Some conditions such as bursitis also cause inflamed, red or swollen joints but are not systemic. Rheumatoid arthritis and similar systemic diseases that affect the entire body may cause fatigue, fever, weight loss, numbness or anemia. Diseases that mirror some of these symptoms include fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, sickle cell anemia and thyroid disorders.
Fibromyalgia
According to the Mayo Clinic, fibromyalgia patients hurt all over, even though a doctor may not find anything specifically wrong. Symptoms include pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons and general fatigue. It is common for people with fibromyalgia to have a co-existing condition that causes fatigue, such as chronic fatigue syndrome or depression, or possibly another disease that causes joint pain such as lupus, osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. The authors on the website FibromyalgiaSymptoms.org report that there is no single test to diagnose the disorder, but diagnostic procedures are performed to rule out similar disorders.
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is an infectious bacterial disease commonly transmitted in North America primarily by deer ticks. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms include bouts of severe joint pain and swelling for several weeks or months following the infection. Pain will seem to migrate from one joint to another. The patient may develop flulike symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue and rashes. Serious neurological symptoms may also appear, such as meningitis, which is inflammation of the brain’s membranes; facial paralysis; limb numbness or weakness; and impaired muscle control.
Sickle Cell Anemia
Sickle cell anemia is a disease in which the red blood cells are shaped like a sickle, or C, due to abnormal hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in the blood that transports oxygen. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, clumps of sickle cells block blood flow to limbs and organs, which causes pain, infection and organ damage. Pain can be acute or chronic and mild or severe. Other symptoms include shortness of breath and pain in the hands or feet. Sickle cells also can block the small blood vessels in the feet and hands, causing a condition known as hand-foot syndrome. This condition can lead to fever, swelling and pain that affects one or both hands and/or one or both feet at the same time.
Thyroid Disorders
An overactive or underactive thyroid gland can cause symptoms of muscle or joint pain. MedlinePlus reports that the thyroid gland produces the hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine, which control how cells in the body use energy. According to the website Thyroid-Info, thyroid diseases cause myopathy, which means that they affect skeletal muscle. White blood cells attack parts of the muscle, eventually causing pain. Hypothyroidism—or an underactive thyroid—can cause muscle swelling that presses on nerves resulting in general muscular weakness, pain, achiness or stiffness. Graves disease is a condition of hyperthyroidism—or an overactive thyroid—that causes muscle weakness and fatigue. However, pain is not as common in hyperthyroidism.
