Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory arthritis in which joints of the hands and feet, are inflamed, which results in joint pains, swelling and frequent destruction of joints. Small joints of the limbs become painful and have stiffness which persists for about 60 minutes on awakening and after inactivity. Due to weakness, fever and damage to other organs may also occur.

1. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory arthritis in which joints of the hands and feet,
are inflamed, which results in joint pains, swelling and frequent destruction of joints. Small
joints of the limbs become painful and have stiffness which persists for about 60 minutes on
awakening and after inactivity. Due to weakness, fever and damage to other organs may also
occur. RA affects both sides of the body. For example, if a joint is affected in one arm or leg
then a similar joint of the other arm or leg will be affected too. This is one of the ways RA is
identified by the doctors from other forms of arthritis like Osteoarthritis (OA).
Rheumatoid arthritis develops in about 1% in the whole world’s population. Women are
affected
2 times more than men. It appears in the age group between 35 to 50years. A similar
disease in children may occurwhich is knownas Juvenile idiopathicarthritis.
The cause of Rheumatoid arthritis is not known, it is considered as an autoimmune disease.
The components of the immune system attack the soft tissues and will also attack the
connective tissue in other parts of the body such as blood vessels and lungs. Due to this,
gradually the bone, cartilage and the ligaments of the joints wear away causing deformity.
Many unknown factors like viral infectionsand smokingplaya vitalrole.
Treatments work best when RA is identified at an early stage, so it’s significant to learn the
signs.
Read on to acquire all you want to know about RA, from kinds and indications, to home
remedies, diets, and othertreatments.
Symptoms:
Peoplewho have RAmay experiencethese symptoms:
Joint pain, fatigue, Joint tenderness, Joint swelling, redness in joints, Joint stiffness, Loss of
joint function, limping, jointdeformity, both sidesof the jointsaffected,Anemia, Fever,
Depression.
Somemay feeltired and weak by afternoon.RAmay also cause loss of appetitewith weight
loss.
ThesignsandsymptomsofRAmayvaryfrompersontoperson.IntenseRAsymptomsare
known as flare-ups, and inactive periods. Othertimes when symptoms are less is knownas
remission.
Diagnosis:
The 3 testswhichdoctorsfollow to diagnose RA:
 Blood tests
 X-rays

2. It is difficult to diagnose RA at early stages. There is no single test or physical finding to
confirm the diagnoses. Your doctor will do a physical check-up of your joints for
swelling, redness and warmth. Doctor will also test your reflexes and strength in
muscles.
Blood test: The blood tests are done to find the blood levels of rheumatoid factor and Anti –
CCP antibodiesor C-reactive protein (CRP), ESR or both.
Rheumatoid factor test:
RF is a group of antibodies that attack the affected persons own tissues instead of attacking
the harmful bacteria or viruses. If Rheumatoid factor in the blood is high then it means the
autoimmune system is acting up. The RF test is mostly associated with RA but isn’t limited to
that disease.
Anti – Cyclic Citrullinated protein antibody test (anti-CCP):
Thistestis donetofindoutanti-CCPantibodiesin theblood.Citrullineis producednaturallyin
the bodyaspartofthe metabolismof theaminoacidarginine.Citrullinechangesthe protein
structure and may trigger the immune response, by producing the auto antibodies against
joint proteins. Antinuclear antibodytest:
This test is done to findout the amount and patternof antibodies in the blood that works
against your own body(autoimmunereaction).
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR):
TheESR is highin people whohaveactiverheumatoidarthritis.Thistest is doneto knowthe
level
of inflammation and measures the speed of red blood cells settling to the bottom of a test
tube containing blood sample. Normally red blood cells settle relatively slow, if they settle
faster than normalrate then it indicates the inflammation in the body.
C-reactive proteintest:
CRP is a blood test to check the amount of protein called C-reactive protein in the blood. This
helps in measuring the general levels of inflammation in the body. Many infections and long
term diseases will cause high level of CRP. This CRP test cannot identify the root cause or
the location of the inflammation.Othertestsare required to understandthe actualcause.
Treatment for Rheumatoid arthritis:
Thetreatmentsthataresuggestedbythedoctordependsontheseverity ofthe symptomsand
the duration of RA. The procedure of treatment will differfrom personto person.
The main aim for your doctor is to stop inflammation and relive from the symptoms, reduce
further damage of joint and organ, improvise the physical function and reduce long term

3. complications. To achieve all these you would be suggested to take medications and also
lifestyle changes are required. If thesedo not help thensurgery would be suggested.
Measures to be taken:
Drugs: By taking the DMARDs (disease modifying antirheumatic drug) will slow the
progression of the disease and it will also help reducing some symptoms. These drugs are
started as soon as RA isdiagnosed.
Exercising:
Simple exercises can benefit for relieving pain and stiffness. These exercises and stretches
will help mainly during a flare. Exercising will improve the joint mobility and flexibility,
reduces painful symptoms. The best exercises are stretching, walking, yoga, Pilates,
swimming, cycling, hand exercises,gardening.
Is rest is the best way:
Inflamed joints require more rest during flare-ups. Frequent rest periods may help relieve pain.
A
short period of bed rest with good sleep will help to diminish inflammation in its most active
painful stage. You can try splints and braces as a support when you rest. You can use
canes and crutchesto keep up mobility.
Therapies:
You can also follow few nondrug therapies such as massages, traction and deep heat
treatments ( helps in muscle functioning, reduces stiffness and muscle spasm), self help
devices such as grippers will help your hand when you need to squeeze forcefully, applying
ice packs will reduce pain.
Manage life with RA.
Prevention tips:
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. The root cause of this is unknown it is very
difficult to escape from RA. You can only lessen the symptoms and try to prevent it by
making lifestyle changes.
 Find out more home remedies and therapies to bring down the pain.
 Try acupuncture
 Adiet change is important.
 Exercise
 Stressmanagement

4.  lose weightif you are
obese