Arthritis means inflammation of the joints. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common form of arthritis affecting approximately 1 in 100 of the adult population.¹ It is an autoimmune disease with a strong inflammatory component which causes joints to degenerate and erode. More than twice as many women than men are affected by the disease and about 60% of a population’s predisposition to RA can be accounted for by genetic factors.^2,3  RA can be life threatening and has been shown to be linked with increased death from infection, cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney disease, as well as gastrointestinal problems.

RA varies from person to person in the way it affects an individuals joints.⁴ Some people have little or no damage to joints, or suffer only very minor involvement in a few joints.⁴ Predominantly, RA affects peripheral joints, usually beginning in the small joints of the hands and feet, spreading later to the larger joints.⁵

The joints most frequently affected by RA include the knuckles and middle joints of fingers, wrists, shoulders, middle joints of toes, balls of the feet, ankles and knees.⁴ Joints which are affected less frequently are the elbows, hips and neck.⁴

In addition, RA can affect the tendons and, in some people, can also cause inflammation of the lungs and blood vessels.⁵ Some people with RA feel generally ill, with overwhelming tiredness or fatigue, which may be as difficult to cope with as the painful joints.⁴ 

RA symptoms tend to come and go with no particular patterns, with patients experiencing ‘flare-ups’ when the joints become more inflamed and painful, with months or years in between when there is little apparent inflammation.⁴

There is no cure for RA, but modern treatment approaches are effective at controlling disease activity and reducing long-term disability. Surgery, which is occasionally needed, can encompass minor operations to relieve a nerve or tendon, through to major operations such as joint replacement.⁴

Medication which helps relieves patients’ symptoms, such as, painkillers (analgesics), and anti-inflammatory medications including both non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) (traditional and cox-selective) and corticosteroids (Cortisone).²

Treatment should be tailored to the individual, if side effects occur, it is important to discuss these with your doctor who can look at changing the dose or switching to an alternative therapy.

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