Arthritis, Rheumatoid
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease that affects the joints, often those in a person's wrists, fingers, and feet. The common symptoms of RA are pain, stiffness, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and fever. There are treatments for RA in conventional medicine, and also treatments in complementary, alternative and integrative medicine (CAIM). Arthritis is the most common cause of disability in the United States, limiting the activities of nearly 19 million adults.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is what is called an autoimmune disease. In this type of disease, a person's immune system (the system in the body responsible for fighting disease) mistakenly attacks the person's own body. In RA, the parts attacked are the linings of the joints (places in the body where two bones connect). The reasons that this happens are complex and not fully understood. RA causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in a person's joints and problems with functioning. However, RA affects different people in different ways, in terms of the symptoms they have, how serious the symptoms are, and how long the symptoms last. RA is different from other types of arthritis (such as osteoarthritis).
There are many proven treatments for RA that are used to relieve pain, reduce swelling, slow down or stop the damage to joints, help the person function better, and improve the person's sense of well-being. These treatments range from complementary and alternative options to pharmaceuticals to combinations of both.
It is important for people with RA to have their condition followed by a health care professional. This helps prevent or minimize damage to the joints and disability, which can occur if RA is left untreated over time.