Joint counts and physical measures

The joint examination is the major source of information to determine clinical status of rheumatoid arthritis in the clinic or in a clinical trial. Quantitative methods may evaluate tenderness, pain on motion, swelling, deformity, and limitation of motion. Use of self-report, simplified, reduced, and binary (normal/abnormal) evaluations are presented in this article with emphasis on using binary evaluations in clinical settings. The uses of grip strength, button test, and walk time are also discussed.