The early symptoms of hand arthritis are as follows: 1. Pain in the hand joints, at first mainly in the morning, that is, the pain is more obvious in the early morning when you get up and move around, which is reduced after activity, but the pain increases after the activity increases, which can be relieved by rest. 2. Stiffness and inflexibility of the fingers, especially in the morning when you get up. When you wake up in the morning, you will find that your fingers are a little stiff and inflexible to grasp things, which will be improved by activities. When this happens, you should go to the hospital to take pictures, which may indicate a mild narrowing of the joint space of the finger or a small bony bulge.