What is rheumatoid arthritis?
The main symptom of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is inflammationredness, heat, and painat the joints. RA affects the joint membranes, cartilage, and bones the way OA does. But unlike OA, RA can also affect the whole bodywith loss of appetite, a general feeling of being unwell, and other symptoms. RA takes very different forms in different people. Some people have only a mild form of RA that does not get more severe. Others go on to develop severe deformities of the joints. Most people with RA fall somewhere in between. RA is usually first noticed in the small joints of the hands, feet, and wrists. It may then move on to the larger joints elbows, shoulders, and knees. As RA gets worse, the joints can become deformed and too stiff to move. RA affects about 1 in every 100 people. It affects women 3 times more often than men. The people most likely to develop RA are those between the ages of 35 and 50.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a form of arthritis that has inflammation in the lining of the joints (synovium) and at times in internal organs. This inflammation separates RA from the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis. RA can affect any joint with synovium, especially in the hands, feet, knees, shoulders, and hips. The course of RA is variable and unpredictable with damage occurring to joint cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and bone. What are the signs and symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis? RA is an autoimmune inflammatory disease distinguished from other forms of arthritis by the pattern of joints involved. Inflammation from RA causes pain, stiffness, swelling, warmth, redness, loss of function in joints. RA affects the wrist and many of the hand joints, but usually not the joints that are closest to the fingernails. Other joints that may be affected by RA include the elbows, shoulders, neck, jaw, hips, knees, ankles, and feet. Other than the neck, the spine is usually not dir
