Arthritis - Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX

Arthritis - Dallas/Ft. Worth

What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

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There are many types of arthritis (disease of the joints). This topic is about rheumatoid arthritis.

What is rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes tissues lining the joints to become swollen, (inflamed).

Over time, this inflammation may destroy the joint tissues. This can limit your daily activities and make it hard for you to walk and use your hands.

Rheumatoid arthritis is 2 to 3 times more common in women than in men. It often begins between the ages of 40 and 60.

What causes rheumatoid arthritis?

The exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not known. But rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body's natural defense system attacks the joints. The disease also runs in some families.

What are the symptoms?

The main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints of the hands, wrists, elbows, feet, ankles, knees, or neck. The disease usually affects both sides of the body at the same time. In rare but severe cases, it may affect the eyes, lungs, heart, nerves, or blood vessels.

Sometimes rheumatoid arthritis can cause bumps called nodules to form over the elbows, knuckles, spine, and lower leg bones.

How is rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed?

There is no single test for rheumatoid arthritis. Your doctor will look at your joints for signs of swelling or tenderness. He or she will also ask about your symptoms and past health.

You may have blood tests, X-rays, and other tests to find out if another problem is causing your joint pain.

How is it treated?

There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, but treatment may help relieve symptoms and control the disease. Treatment continues throughout your life.

Treatment includes medicine, exercise, and lifestyle changes.

Experts recommend early treatment with medicines that may control rheumatoid arthritis or keep it from getting worse. Early treatment also may lower the chances that inflammation will destroy your joints and limit your daily activities.

Many of the medicines used to treat rheumatoid arthritis have side effects. So it is important to have regular checkups and talk with your doctor about any problems. This will help your doctor find a treatment that works for you.

At home, you can relieve your symptoms and help control your disease if you:

• Rest when you are tired.
• Protect your joints from injury by using special kitchen tools or doorknobs.
• Use splints, canes, or walkers to ease pain and take stress off your joints, if your symptoms are severe.
• Eat a balanced diet.
• Exercise regularly.
• Stay at a healthy weight.

If medicine, exercise, and lifestyle changes do not help enough, surgery may be an option. Total joint replacement can be done for many joints in the body.

It can be hard to live with a long-term illness that can limit your ability to do things. It is common for people with rheumatoid arthritis to have some depression. Be sure to seek the help and support you need from friends and family members. Professional counseling also can help you cope with long-term pain and depression.

Safe Strategies for Using Over-the-Counter Arthritis Drugs

Arthritis patients often rely on over-the-counter medications, but they must be used carefully to avoid dangerous side effects.

Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs are the most important and available painkillers in the arthritis patient's arsenal. They make life bearable, and many patients use them for years without trouble. But it's important to know the potentially serious side effects that can come with overuse.

Ulcers and stomach problems
It is estimated that more than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized each year from ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding linked to the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), according to the American College of Gastroenterology. Even more alarming, between 15,000 and 20,000 Americans die each year from the same cause. The over-the-counter NSAID list includes aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and naproxen (Aleve), but they also come in prescription form.

Tackling Everday Life With Arthritis
More than 14 million arthritis patients take NSAIDs on a regular basis, and up to 60% will suffer from related gastrointestinal side effects.

The risk to the heart and kidney
Use of NSAIDs can increase your blood pressure by reducing the flow of blood through the kidneys and slowing them down. When your kidneys are not working well, sodium builds up in your bloodstream, which can raise blood pressure. At the same time, your kidneys are being damaged and are at risk for failure. Some anti-inflammatories have also been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, which is why the popular arthritis drug, Vioxx, was removed from the market.

The risk of side effects is linked in part to the size and frequency of the dose, says David Pisetsky, MD, professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology and immunology at Duke University, which makes arthritis patients prime targets. Dr. Pisestky advises patients to take the drugs when needed, but not on a continual basis.

Tackling Everyday Life With Arthritis: Patient Struggles and Strategies

Arthritis pain can feel isolating, but you are far from alone.

It is difficult for nonsufferers to imagine the degree to which a chronic and debilitating condition like arthritis can turn everyday activities into sources of embarrassment, shame, and even inadequacy. For people living with the challenge everyday, there is some comfort in hearing how others experience and cope with chronic pain.

Starting your day
Many patients begin their day with the thought, "I can't get out of bed."

"A typical day for me," says Debra Fisher, 52, of Pittsburgh, "is I get up in the morning and eventually sit on the edge of the bed. I have to sit there for a minute because my feet are so swollen, and that's just from being in bed. Then I just have to stand there for a minute and get my bearings. My hands are really puffy and my joints really ache, like a toothache. And then I just start moving."

"The hardest thing to me was getting into the car," says Glenn, 54, from Chappaqua, N.Y.

"I used to go out five minutes before my wife and daughter because I didn't want them to see me psych myself up for the pain of swinging my legs into the car. It would take five minutes! Some mornings I just said to myself, 'I don't want to do this.' I dreaded it, it hurt so damn much."

For some, it can be the little things that become huge obstacles. For Joanne, 72, of Cape Cod, Mass., it's opening jars and bottles. "Sometimes I leave them out for my cleaning lady or somebody like that to open." If sitting was hard, sometimes Roberts would simply work standing up. "There was a ledge in my office that I could use instead of sitting at a desk." 

Why You Should Exercise and Lose Weight to Alleviate Arthritis Pain

Exercise and losing weight are the most important things an arthritis patient can do, says Bernard Rubin, DO, director of the rheumatology fellowship at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. But he finds most of his patients don't see getting in shape as part of their treatment plan.

"The problem is that people are very harried, work aggressively, and run around taking care of family. They confuse that with exercise," says Dr. Rubin, "which it's not."

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Lessening your load and strengthening your joints
For every unneeded pound of body weight, a knee joint, for example, bears an extra three pounds of pressure. "Losing 10 pounds will take 30 pounds off your joints," says Dr. Rubin. "So what people need to understand is that if they're overweight by 50 or 100 pounds, losing 10 or 15 pounds will make a difference."

Exercise is one way to lose weight, but it has other benefits. Stretching, done carefully, can be a good pain reliever. Increased strength can affect the progression of the disease and the intensity of the pain.

"It's good for improving the mobility of the joint," says Honolulu-based rheumatologist James McKoy, MD, chief of the pain service division at Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii. "The stronger the ligament and muscles are around the joint, the less instability, the less pain, and eventually, as time goes on, less deformity."

This educational content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, home improvement or health advice. Content on this page is provided by Ask The Experts and not the featured advertiser.

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