6. Bilateral symptoms
This is when the well-known rheumatism symptoms like stiffness, pain, and swelling affect a person on both sides of their body, more specifically when either both arms or both legs are affected at the same time. The pain felt bilateral might appear on the face of it to be the favorable option when compared with unilateral symptoms as at least there is always an opposite joint or limb to compare the pain against.
It can be calming to observe and feel the symmetry of an easing pain as this symmetry can act as a tool to see whether a flare-up is improving or not. When the symptoms are bilateral however, the pain can also feel less focussed and localized. The disadvantage of bilateral symptoms is that the swelling, inflammation and stiffening up tend to be felt across a wider spread of the body’s joints, thus making them harder to ignore.