Rheumatoid Arthritis

The cause of RA isn’t fully understood, but it’s an autoimmune disease. This means that the body’s natural defense system attacks the joints. Genes play a role, but experts don’t know exactly what that role is.

Symptoms of RA often develop slowly over weeks or months. Fatigue and stiffness are usually early symptoms. The disease usually affects both sides of the body at the same time. Joint symptoms include:

• Pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints of the hands, wrists, elbows, feet, ankles, knees, or neck
• Morning joint stiffness or stiffness that may develop after long periods of sleeping or sitting, usually lasting for at least one hour and often up to several hours
• Rheumatoid bumps (nodules), which occur in nearly one-third of people with RA; usually form over pressure points in the body such as the elbows, knuckles, spine and lower leg bones, and range in size from a pea to a mothball.

Rheumatoid arthritis can also cause symptoms throughout the body (systemic). These include:

• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Mild fever

RA is most often treated with medicine. Some medicines help to control the symptoms. Other medicines, especially when used early, can help to prevent the disease from getting worse.

Many of the medicines used to treat RA have side effects, which is why it’s important to have regular checkups and talk with your doctor about any problems. This will help your doctor find a treatment that works for you.

Physical therapy and finding the best balance between rest and activity can also help alleviate your symptoms.

If your treatment doesn’t help, surgery may be an option. The type of surgery you can have depends on which joints are causing problems. Sometimes surgery to replace a joint, such as a hip or knee, is an option. Other types of surgery can remove debris or inflamed tissue from a joint, or relieve pressure on nerves.