Which condition often presents with morning stiffness lasting for more than 1 hour?

Enhance your knowledge with the Internal Medicine End of Rotation Exam. Challenge yourself with multiple-choice questions and detailed explanations to ensure you excel.

The condition that typically presents with morning stiffness lasting for more than one hour is rheumatoid arthritis. This autoimmune disorder is characterized by inflammation in the joints, which leads to prolonged stiffness, particularly noticeable in the morning after periods of inactivity or sleep. Patients commonly report that their joints feel stiff and difficult to move upon waking, and this stiffness can take time to subside, often lasting over an hour.

In contrast, osteoarthritis usually presents with stiffness that lasts less than 30 minutes after inactivity. Fibromyalgia may cause widespread pain and stiffness but does not necessarily lead to prolonged morning stiffness specifically. Paget's disease primarily affects bone remodeling and is associated with symptoms such as bone pain or deformities rather than stiffness, making it less relevant to the morning stiffness characteristic seen in rheumatoid arthritis.

Thus, recognizing the typical presentation of morning stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis helps differentiate it from other conditions that may affect the musculoskeletal system but do not share this specific feature.

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