Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect more than just your joints. In some people, the condition can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, and blood vessels. An autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body’s tissues.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes joint inflammation and pain. It happens when the immune system doesn’t work properly and attacks the lining of the joints, called the synovium. The disease commonly affects the hands, knees, or ankles, and usually the same joint on both sides of the body, such as both hands or both knees.
Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease, which means that your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation (painful swelling) in the affected parts of the body. RA mainly attacks the joints, usually many joints at once. RA commonly affects joints in the hands, wrists, and knees.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that is chronic (ongoing). It occurs in the joints on both sides of your body, which makes it different from other types of arthritis. You may have symptoms of pain and inflammation in your fingers, hands, wrists, knees, ankles, feet, and toes.
Overview of Osteoarthritis vs. Rheumatoid Arthritis: Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term (chronic) disease that causes inflammation of the joints. The inflammation can be so severe that it affects how the joints and other parts of the body look and function. In the hand, RA may cause deformities in the joints of the fingers, making moving your hands difficult.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that can cause pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints. Though there is no cure, early diagnosis and treatment can help manage symptoms and prevent further damage.
Basics In-Depth Read Overview Symptoms & Causes Diagnosis Treatment & Steps to Take More Info: Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis involves taking a medical history, performing a physical exam, ordering laboratory tests, and ordering imaging studies such as x-rays or ultrasound.
For more information, visit:
Mayo Clinic,
Arthritis Foundation,
CDC,
Cleveland Clinic,
Mayo Clinic on Arthritis,
Johns Hopkins Medicine,
Healthline, and
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
