Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that not only affects your joints but can also impact other parts of your body. It is an autoimmune condition wherein your immune system mistakenly attacks your body’s tissues. This attack leads to inflammation, resulting in pain, swelling, and potential deformity in the affected areas. RA commonly affects the hands, knees, or ankles, and typically the same joint is affected on both sides of the body, such as both hands or both knees.
Unlike osteoarthritis, which is caused by physical wear and tear, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. It causes joint inflammation and pain due to the immune system attacking the lining of the joints, known as the synovium. Over time, this can lead to joint damage. In addition to joint issues, rheumatoid arthritis can also affect other organs.
One way to distinguish RA from other types of arthritis, like gout, is by its symptoms. Gout, for example, is characterized by intense pain, redness, stiffness, swelling, and warmth in affected joints, often the big toe, due to uric acid crystals. In contrast, RA is driven by immune system activity causing joint damage.
To learn more about rheumatoid arthritis, including its symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment options, you can visit the Mayo Clinic. The CDC also offers valuable information about RA, including its signs, symptoms, causes, risk factors, and how to manage it with medication, physical activity, and self-management strategies. Additional insights and expert opinions can be found at the Arthritis Foundation, Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The main symptoms of arthritis, in general, include joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. While osteoarthritis is more common and involves the breakdown of cartilage at the joints, rheumatoid arthritis is a distinct and more debilitating condition that requires specialized care and treatment.
