Pain, stiffness, tenderness, and swelling in joints. Osteoarthritis most often affects the knees, hips, hands, and spine. Rheumatoid arthritis usually begins in small joints in the hands and feet, then spread to larger joints. In addition to pain and swelling, rheumatoid arthritis can cause fever, tiredness, and weight loss.  If you have a type of knee arthritis in which the wear and tear is harming the middle of your joint – called medial-knee arthritis – special insoles could help. Lateral-wedge insoles are thinnest at your instep and yours widest at the outer edge of your foot, realigning your feet and your lower legs in a way that can reduce some of the twisting that wears down knee joints. Your doctor can tell you which type you have. Everything from genetics to joint injuries to age-related changes in cartilage-protecting enzymes plays a role. But there’s plenty of evidence that you can cut your risk significantly with the simple, proven strategies here.