Rheumatoid arthritis - information, symptoms and treatments

Rheumatoid arthritis - information, symptoms and treatments

Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms

Rheumatoid arthritis varies from one person to another but in most peopleit starts quite slowly. A few joints often the fingers, wrists or the balls of the feet become uncomfortable and may swell, often intermittently

What causes rheumatoid arthritis?

Inflammation is a normal body defence mechanism. It is there to help fight off viruses and bacteria that cause illness.

In rheumatoid arthritis the body's immune system produces inflammation that attacks the tissues in our joints.

How does rheumatoid arthritis progress?

It isn't possible to predict exactly how rheumatoid arthritis will progress for each patient. The inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis damages the cartilage and sometimes the bone itself. It may also damage any ligaments within the joints.

Inflammation causes the tough capsules that surround joints to stretch. When the swelling goes down the capsule remains stretched and can no longer hold the joint in its proper position. As a result the joint becomes unstable and this can lead to deformities of the joints. Some damage is done every time the joints are inflamed and once joints are damaged they don't heal properly. This is why most treatment aims to prevent joint damage by minimizing inflammation as early as possible in the disease.

Inflammation can sometimes affect the blood vessels, the lungs and, rarely, the membrane around the heart. People with rheumatoid arthritis are also more at risk of heart attack and strokes. This seems to be caused by the inflammation and the risk is probably reduced by controlling the disease.

Although the risk isn't very great, it needs to be taken into account along with any other risk factors such as high cholesterol and smoking. We would strongly recommend that you don't smoke if you develop rheumatoid arthritis.

Some people, maybe as many as 1 in 5, always have very mild rheumatoid arthritis that causes few problems. People in this group will usually have only minor damage to a small number of joints.

A few people, no more than 1 in 20, will have rheumatoid arthritis that becomes progressively worse, often quite quickly. These individuals are likely to have severe damage to many of their joints, andare also more likely to have inflammation in other parts of the body besides their joints.

Most people follow a pattern of flare-ups with periods of months or even years when there is little inflammation. There's likely to be some damage in a number of joints. People whose disease follows this pattern are likely to have some problems with their joints and may have to change their activities a little, but overall probably won't notice too great an impact on their lives.

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