Understanding Rheumatoid Arthritis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment Options

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory condition that primarily affects the joints, but can also impact other organs in the body. This autoimmune disorder occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks tissues around the joints and other organs. RA commonly begins in smaller joints, such as those in the hands and wrists, as well as in the feet.

Early rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect your smaller joints first — particularly the joints that attach your fingers to your hands and your toes to your feet. As the disease progresses, symptoms often spread to the wrists, knees, ankles, elbows, hips, and shoulders. In most cases, symptoms occur in the same joints on both sides of your body.

One of the hallmark signs of RA is pain and soreness in the hands and fingers. People with RA in their hands typically experience both soreness in the joints themselves and pain with different hand movements. Rheumatoid arthritis pain may begin suddenly and can become quite intense within 24 to 48 hours of its initial onset.

Inflammatory arthritis involving the small joints of the hands is the most common initial presentation in rheumatoid arthritis. Hand joints commonly involved are the metacarpophalangeal joints, the proximal interphalangeal joints, and the wrist joints. In RA, the arthritis is typically bilateral and symmetrical.

The joints most often affected by RA are in the hands, wrists, feet, ankles, knees, shoulders, and elbows. The disease often causes inflammation in the same areas on both sides of the body. Symptoms may begin suddenly or slowly over time. Each person’s symptoms may vary and may include pain, stiffness, especially in the morning.

For more detailed information on Rheumatoid Arthritis, you can visit the following sources: Mayo Clinic, Verywell Health, CreakyJoints, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Medical News Today, and NCBI Bookshelf.