Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is an autoimmune disease. It causes your body’s immune system to attack the joints.
What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is an autoimmune disease. It causes your body’s immune system to attack the joints.RA most often affects the hands, wrists, feet, and knees.Joints are where bones meet. Cartilage lines the ends of bone at joints to prevent the bone from rubbing together.With RA, this lining of your joints becomes inflamed. This inflammation thickens the cartilage, damaging it, the bones, and other areas near the joint.You may also have inflammation in other parts of your body, such as the eyes, lungs, nerves, blood vessels, and heart.RA may also make you feel very tired.Long-term inflammation can lead to joint damage, chronic pain, and loss of function.Treatment and self-care can help control symptoms, which may lessen joint damage.Experts aren’t sure what causes RA. But certain things can raise your risk for the disease, such as: being older in age; being a woman; having certain genes or a family history of the disease; smoking.The symptoms and severity of RA vary from person to person. In most cases, RA affects pairs of joints on both sides of the body.Early symptoms include stiffness, muscle aches, weakness, and fatigue. Over time, the joints may begin to hurt.“This is more of the swelling of the joints as to yeah, it is this that stiffness that painful that you just you just can't move your joints the way you normally would.”They may also become warm, swollen, or tender.Symptoms may feel worse in the morning after a night's rest and may get better with activity.Your RA might not be felt at all times. You could have a period of time where your symptoms get worse.These times are followed by periods when symptoms get better or go away.Over time, joints may become unstable or fuse together. Small lumps or nodules may form under the skin near joints.These changes can lead to the loss of movement and strength.If you have symptoms of RA, talk with your healthcare provider. They will ask about your health history and give you a physical exam.To help look for signs of RA, you may have certain tests, such as: blood tests; imaging tests, like X-rays, ultrasound, or an MRI scan; joint aspiration; and nodule biopsy.You can do many things to manage your RA. Work with a rheumatologist.This healthcare provider specializes in RA care. Together, you can make a treatment plan that’s right for you.“What’s definitely helped is just my open communication with my rheumatologist, with my family doctor.They have helped me tremendously because they're the ones that keep me regimented with the medications I need. They know where I should be at with my markers. They know that they what they can do, how they can support me.”RA can’t be cured. But treatment can slow or stop the disease from getting worse. It can also help ease symptoms.So, follow your treatment plan to help better manage your condition.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.© The Wellness Network
© The Wellness Network
