Other Conditions With Symptoms Similar to Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

A number of conditions can cause painful, stiff joints in children. Reference Juvenile idiopathic arthritis Opens New Window (JIA) is a relatively uncommon cause of these symptoms. Most often, joint pain can be linked to an injury.

Other conditions that may be confused with JIA include:

• Reference Growing pains Opens New Window.
• Injury or overuse (knee pain, Reference bursitis Opens New Window, Reference tendinitis Opens New Window).
• Other inflammatory diseases, including Reference lupus Opens New Window, Reference rheumatic fever Opens New Window, or other types of arthritis.
• Hypermobility syndrome ("double-jointed"), which can cause joint pain at night and after heavy or unusual activity. The child may show unusual ability to overextend or overstraighten the knees, fingers, hands, or elbows.
• Reference Lyme disease Opens New Window.
• Inflammation in a joint caused by a foreign body, such as a splinter in the joint.
• A condition in which the upper end of the thighbone slips off the rest of the bone (slipped capital femoral epiphysis).
• A tumor.
• Infection of a joint (bacterial or Reference septic arthritis Opens New Window).
• Infection of a bone (Reference osteomyelitis Opens New Window).
• Arthritis associated with Reference inflammatory bowel disease Opens New Window.
• Other diseases that affect cell growth, such as Reference leukemia Opens New Window.

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