What’s Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is defined as a chronic disease which destroys and damages body joints. It is that disease which affects potentially all of the body’s internal organs which ultimately results in disability. Damage of joint is mainly due to inflammation of lining tissue of joint.
Immune system of body gives its response in form of inflammation to assaults like wounds and infections. In case of rheumatoid arthritis pain is caused in joints due to inflammation.
Along with pain swelling, stiffness, and loss of functions is also there in this disease. Kidneys, lungs, and heart are also affected by inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Affected joints could be permanently damaged by inflammation, in case if it is not stopped or slowed down to some extent.
In rheumatoid arthritis, immune system of affected person’s body is misdirected and body tissues are attacked by production of specialised cells.
Cartilage and bone of joints are also damaged due to expansion of synovitis outside and inside of joint. Most often it affects smaller joints but it can be considered as a disease of the whole body. Normal daily activities become very difficult to carry out with rheumatoid arthritis.
Probability of rheumatoid is more in women than in men, as 75% of total affected persons are women. It may affect children, old age people, and teenagers but commonly it attacks persons with an age group of 35-50. Over the whole world, 1% people are affected by rheumatoid arthritis.
However, Osteoarthritis is a common type of arthritis, which is generally caused by degeneration of cartilage, and therefore it, is also called as degenerative arthritis. In osteoarthritis, localised inflammation is caused by mechanical degeneration.
This disease usually affects only one knee. It must be kept in mind that an abnormal blood test results are not the result of osteoarthritis.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Causes
The main cause of rheumatoid arthritis has not been found yet. Although many risk factors are behind rheumatoid arthritis, such as inherited genes, tobacco smoking, bacteria, and silicon exposure. It has been shown by medical scientists that variation in micro biome which exists in rheumatoid arthritis generally affects people.
It has a bad impact on health of person and also his immune system become weak. Kinds of bacteria differ in other peoples who are affected with rheumatoid arthritis than those who are not affected. This information is not very much helpful in treating this problem but it indicates that why some people feel better after changing their eating habits as change in eating habits may replace the missing bacteria.
Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
There is a wide range of symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis which are explained as follows: –
- Stiffness
The regular movement of joint does not remain same as it used to be. Range of motion of body parts like arm, finger, and leg reduces stiffness in the body parts which can be easily noticed during morning time.
- Inflammation
Main hall marks of inflammation are tender, warm, and red joints. Typical inflammation (polyarthritis) is also noticed in many affected joints.
- Nodules
Nodules are that hard arthritis, that occur on joint or near to joint. They can be easily found near elbow and can be noticed when joint is flexed.
- Swelling
It can be seen as an area surrounding the affected joints which is swollen.
- Pain
In rheumatoid arthritis, pain has many sources, as it can come from joint swelling or joint inflammation. Pain intensity differs from person to person.
Treatments of Rheumatoid Arthritis?
It is recommended that treatment should be started as soon as possible after diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. Perfect combination of nondrug and medication approach is always beneficial for person who is affected by rheumatoid arthritis.
Nondrug approach usually contains:
- Physical Therapy: It helps in improving range of muscle strength, motion by reducing pain.
- Relaxation Therapy: It explains those techniques which are helpful in reducing pain by releasing muscle tension.
- Hydrotherapy: Relaxing in warm water and exercising comes under this therapy.
Some tips for managing rheumatoid arthritis are:
- Affected persons should adopt happy and healthy lifestyle. Junk food and sugar should be avoided to some extent. However, smoking should be permanently avoided.
- Exercises are important part of treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Correct exercises should be asked from doctors to overcome the disease.
- Instructions should be followed from your doctor.
Natural/Home Remedies to treat Arthritis
- Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis should not be delayed. Risk is always increased if treatment is delayed and it will worsen the condition.
- Everything should be cleared about rheumatoid arthritis, so that affected person can ask related questions.
- Pros and cons about the treatment should be known properly.
- Pain in specific joints, can be a symptom of rheumatoid arthritis.
- Exercise and yoga is also a natural home remedy for rheumatoid arthritis.
- Do not sit still for long hours; you should take rest after short periods of time.
Some facts that help with Pain Relief
Pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis can be reduced by using following methods.
- Inflammation medication should be taken in cause of severe pain. Some drugs like DMARDs are very helpful in such cases.
- Pain medication is necessary, strong pain killers can also be taken after certain periods of time.
- Diet also plays part in rheumatoid arthritis, no specific diet can provide instant pain relief, but healthy diet is always helpful.
- Weight Management should be done by affected persons. Better management of pain can be done by reducing weight.
- Massage from a professional therapist is also helpful during pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
For those who are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, there is a need to put control on the way they are living out. To see possible results, it is necessary to follow all the above instructions carefully to get rid of this major problem.