Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a serious injury that is thought to affect 1 in every 100 people. The injury is caused by a reaction of the nervous system, whereby certain joints are attacked by the immune system and this causes them to become inflamed. In some cases with this injury, the immune system can attack organs such as the lungs so it can be a condition that gets very serious.
Unfortunately, in a lot of cases the condition does get quite severe. Most sufferers will have this condition for life and after a few years, may have to experience huge lifestyle changes. A lot of people are forced to stop working and its thought that the condition has an impact on lifespan – with experts believing that it could be reduced by 5-10 years.
The injury itself is usually very painful and the sufferer will usually feel pain and throbbing in the affected joints. It can affect any person although women are thought to be two to three more times at risk than men, and the injury usually comes to light in those aged 40-60.
Symptoms
The symptoms of this condition are quite general and therefore it would be advised to ask for a medical opinion. Blood tests and x-rays are the most common methods to diagnose this.
Pain and swelling in the joints are the most common symptoms, although there are plenty more. The person’s hands can sometimes become red and puffy, while they could also experience weight loss and frequent fevers. Another common symptom is stiffness in the morning – something that usually lasts for around thirty minutes.
The smaller joints in the body are usually affected first, so you should look to spot the symptoms in areas such as the hands, wrists and ankles. Once the injury worsens, the pain and symptoms are more likely to be evident in the shoulders, elbows, knees etc.
Causes
This condition occurs due to synovitis, which refers to the synovial membrane around the joints becoming inflamed. This happens as the while blood cells, which are part of the body’s natural defence system to fight bacteria and the like, move from the bloodstream and to the membrane that surrounds the muscles. For some reason, these white blood cells seem to provoke a reaction in the synovial membrane and the result is the inflammation of the joints.
Unfortunately, the situation gets much more severe over time. When the joint inflames, various proteins are released and this causes the synovial membrane to thicken. Over time this results in damage to everything around the joint, meaning that it will lose its shape and might even be destroyed altogether eventually.
Unfortunately, nobody knows what exactly causes this process.
Treatment
Unfortunately, there is no cure for this condition, although there are lots of treatment methods available. The idea of each of the treatments is to reduce the inflammation, which should therefore reduce the pain and other effects associated with this injury.
Most doctors will issue medication to sufferers. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are perhaps one of the most common medications, while Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and steroids are also sometimes recommended. There are other options as well but the decision for the patient’s medication will rest solely on the severity of their case and what the doctor believes their body will agree with.
Should joints be damaged so badly, surgery could be an option. Depending on the severity, the surgeon could opt to replace the whole joint, repair the tendon or just remove the inflamed joint lining. Like any surgery, there are lots of risks involved and as this condition is serious enough, in-depth communication with an experienced doctor is definitely recommended.
As for short term measures, there are plenty of them. Hot and cold therapy works for some people, as they can help to relieve stiffness or reduce the temperature if the joints feel hot. Some people have found that the condition eases if they lose weight as well – which sounds correct as less stress will be placed on the joints.
Prevention
Nobody has yet discovered why this condition begins. Due to this, it’s impossible to suggest any prevention methods.