RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system – which normally protects its health by attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses – mistakenly attacks the joints. This creates inflammation that causes the tissue that lines the inside of joints (the synovium) to thicken, resulting in swelling and pain in and around the joints. The synovium makes a fluid that lubricates joints and helps them move smoothly
o joint pain, such as in the joints of the feet, hands, and knees
o swollen joints,
o fever,
o limping,
o polyarthritis,
o loss of range of motion,
o tender joints,
o loss of joint function,
o stiff joints,
o fatigue,
o joint redness,
o rheumatoid nodules,
o anemia,
o joint warmth,
o joint deformity, and
o symptoms and signs that affect both sides of the body (symmetry).
• Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease characterized by periods of disease flares and remissions.
• In rheumatoid arthritis, multiple joints are usually, but not always, affected in a symmetrical pattern.
• Chronic inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis can cause permanent joint destruction and deformity.
Error: Contact form not found.
