What are some general characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis of the spine?
What are its usual manifestations?As with any joint in the body, the small joints of the spine can be destroyed by rheumatoid arthritis. This can lead to instability, pain and in advanced cases to compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots emerging from it. This occurs most commonly in the upper neck, but may affect the lower neck or lower back as well.How common is rheumatoid arthritis of the spine (statistics, demographics, risk factors)?One in five to one in three patients with RA have spinal involvement.How is rheumatoid arthritis of the spine diagnosed? What tests or exams may be used?Aside from a physical examination, which includes assessment of the patient’s neurologic function, radiographs (X-rays) are obtained. These usually include neck X-rays in which the patient is first asked to bend their head forward, then backward. Obviously, if the patient has symptoms in other areas of the spine, X-rays of other areas of the spine may have to be obtained as well. If these X-rays
