Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that typically affects the small joints in your hands and feet. Unlike the wear-and-tear damage of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining of your joints, causing painful swelling that can eventually result in bone erosion and joint deformity.
The inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis is what damages other parts of the body as well. While new types of medications have improved treatment options dramatically, severe rheumatoid arthritis can still cause physical disabilities.
Early signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis tend to affect 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.
About 40% of people who have rheumatoid arthritis also experience signs and symptoms that don’t involve the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis can affect many non-joint structures, including skin, eyes, lungs, heart, kidneys, salivary glands, nerve tissue, bone marrow, and blood vessels.
An important aspect of managing rheumatoid arthritis is understanding the stages of the disease. Each stage of RA comes with different treatment goals. Stage 1, the early stage, is characterized by joint inflammation but no joint damage. Stages of RA progress to more severe conditions, including joint damage and increased levels of pain and disability.
A common challenge in diagnosing and treating RA is that many people experience joint pain without swelling. In such cases, advanced imaging techniques like ultrasound or MRI can be used to determine whether there is inflammation in the joints.
Treatment for rheumatoid arthritis typically involves a combination of medication, physical therapy, and in some cases, surgery. The main goal of treatment is to control the inflammation in your joints to prevent joint damage and reduce symptoms.
For more detailed information, you can refer to the following resources:
Mayo Clinic: Rheumatoid Arthritis – Symptoms and Causes
Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center: Joint Pain but No Swelling
CreakyJoints: Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain Aside from Inflammation
Healthline: Rheumatoid Arthritis Stages
Healthline: Signs and Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Mayo Clinic: Arthritis – Symptoms and Causes
Cleveland Clinic: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Verywell Health: Early Signs and Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
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