More often than not, people think that rheumatoid arthritis is a very debilitating illness. The latter sentence may be true if the disease would come out in a severe form due to lack of compliance with the regimen recommended by physicians. The key to understanding what is rheumatoid arthritis may be possible through full acceptance that one is sick, and that one needs proper treatment.

What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis? - The Description

When there is inflammation, swelling and tenderness of the joints, you call the condition as Rheumatoid Arthritis. The cause of the inflammation of these joints is unknown. However, there are factors which precipitate such condition, and these are: the body’s own protection may counter attack the normal “fighting” cells themselves thus resulting to an inflammation, viruses are also known to lead to rheumatoid arthritis attacks; and, other diseases affecting the joints and bones may result to this state.

Since the exact cause is unidentified, eradicating the disease becomes impossible. The only available treatment is through supportive therapy and medication therapy. Also, one needs to modify their diet, lose some weight, and perform certain activities such as paraffin dips. What is rheumatoid arthritis cannot be fully understood in terms of its etiology; but a heap of scientifically proven facts are widely accessible to aid you in being more familiar with the disease.

What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis? - The Facts

There are certain facts supplementing the knowledge on what is rheumatoid arthritis. These facts are based on research and scientific studies; some of the known truths about rheumatoid arthritis are: it is a disease afflicting all races and ages; excessive intake of red meat, smoking and heavy alcohol intake may precipitate the onset of the disease; high Vitamin C intake is a known helpful prevention factor; genes may increase the likelihood of acquiring the disease; and, medications are available to lessen the severity and eliminate joint inflammation.

Natural and complementary therapies are available for reducing pain. However, compliance with the medications is the number one priority in effectively eliminating the symptoms. Just remember that if you are levelheaded enough to follow what the doctors tell you, then you can still go on and lead a normal life.

Acupuncture

One of the oldest and most accepted alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis is acupuncture. Sometimes acupressure is used instead, where a practitioner’s fingers press firmly down on certain pints of the body. But acupuncture, with the use of inserting very fine sterile needles, seems to still give the most relief to a patient.

There are very few alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis that are covered in any way by health insurance companies, but acupuncture often is. You might only be reimbursed for part of your sessions, or only covered for your first few sessions. You need to check with your health insurance to be sure of the details. Acupuncture needs periodic sessions for the rest of your life to get relief.

Nutritional Therapy

The Arthritis Foundation does point out that they do not find any link between diet and Rheumatoid arthritis. However, many arthritis sufferers disagree. Nutritional therapy for rheumatoid arthritis can bring relief or less intense pain to many patients. Also, if you are overweight, then weight loss will definitely ease the strain on your joints.

Food allergies can also aggravate your rheumatoid arthritis pain. A nutritionist will most likely check you for food allergies and then prescribe a diet for you to follow. You also sometimes take vitamins, herbs or nutritional supplements like glucosamine, evening primrose oil or cod liver oil pills.

This is another alternative treatment for rheumatoid arthritis that may or may not be partially covered by your health insurance. Your regular doctor should be able to help you find a nutritionist. Sometimes your health insurance will help reimburse part of your sessions if your regular doctor writes to them proving that all other avenues were taken with no avail. Again, you have to talk with your insurance company for the specifics.

Chiropractic Therapy

Chiropractors are talked about so much in the media and by patients that it can be hard to remember that this is another alternative treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. This therapy is based on manipulating your spine, even through the use of inversion tables that make you hang upside down for a while.

You Must Go To The Doctor

One thing that is known about the progression of rheumatoid arthritis is that can spread to other parts of your body, including your internal organs. There is even a lung disease called rheumatoid lung disease. You can’t have the lung disease without having rheumatoid arthritis. This sinister progression of rheumatoid arthritis is why you cannot ignore it. You must go to your doctor for treatment as soon as possible.

Now, why does rheumatoid arthritis - a joint aliment - wind up harming the inner organs like the stomach, liver and lungs? This progress of rheumatoid arthritis about the body is due to a problem of the body’s immune system. When the body is under attack from an infection or injury, it attacks the bad cells. However, it sometimes doesn’t know when to stop and keeps on attacking the very body it was supposed to protect.

Sometimes even gastritis - an inflammation of the stomach - can trigger rheumatoid arthritis, which in turn can affect problems in the inner organs. This is one way the progression of rheumatoid arthritis happens. But this does not always happen for everyone. Still, you should go to your doctor for a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Remission

Although remission is a term usually associated with cancer patients, it’s also used in the cases of some sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis. This is another way to look at the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Remission can happen in some people for months, some for years and for some, not at all.

There is a form of rheumatoid arthritis called “progressive rheumatoid arthritis”, which is when there are no remissions. This, unfortunately, is the most common kind of rheumatoid arthritis that affects people. However, there are treatment options, both in conventional and alternative medicines.

Rheumatologists

Although sometimes a general doctor might be able to help slow down your progression of rheumatoid arthritis, you usually need to see a specialist called a rheumatologist. Then you need to get periodic x-rays and tests and a lot of medicine. The rheumatologist can sometimes help you find alternative medicine practitioners like acupuncturists or nutritionists.

Rheumatoid Arthritis affects the joints and the surrounding cartilage around the joints. These areas become inflamed and are very tender, they can also be difficult to move due to the inflammation. People with Rheumatoid Arthritis experience severe morning stiffness and pain. The joints can also appear red and warm to the touch, all of these symptoms are clues that a patient has Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis can also have other conditions that occur due to the damage being done by the Arthritis. Tendinitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis can be related and a patient can have both at the same time.

The Connection Between Tendinitis And Rheumatoid Arthritis

When looking at the connection between Tendinitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis, it is apparent why these two medical conditions can co-exist. Tendinitis is caused by an irritation to the tendon which is a thick cord that attaches the bone to the muscle. The tendon can become inflamed due to repetitive movements such as those done with activities like Tennis, Golf or even scrubbing the floor. Sometimes even an infection can cause this reaction in a tendon.

As we age, our tendons become less elastic and this too can contribute to Tendinitis. People over 40 are more at risk for Tendinitis due to this aging elasticity in the tendons.

Tendinitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis can go hand in hand too, because as the joints become inflamed this can then put pressure on the Tendon and result in it becoming swollen too. Tendinitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis can be present at the same time and cause even more pain to an already swollen and painful area. Any area can be affected by Tendinitis, this includes the base of the thumb, the shoulder, the elbow, knees and even the Achilles Tendon.

Often the treatment for Tendinitis includes resting the affected area and placing ice on the swelling. For some patients that suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis the ice can have an adverse reaction and cause more pain. When Tendinitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis are present, a doctor may suggest steroid injections into the inflamed site to help reduce the pain and swelling of the area and this is an effective treatment.

Since we are all unique individuals, the symptoms and signs of a certain disease also affect us differently. For others, they may not have recognized the early indicators; but for some, the signs appear early considering the course of the disease. What is important is to visit your doctor immediately once you feel that something is wrong; and from there, you will already know the succeeding steps you can take.

Signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Diagnostic Criteria

Once you notice the signs of rheumatoid arthritis to continually appear and progress, then consult them with your health care provider and be diagnosed. However, certain laboratory exams would be done first for coming up with a real positive indicator. If the decision shall not be made by a blood test, then diagnostic criteria will be first used.

This is the criteria to follow in case of appearances of the signs of rheumatoid arthritis: tissue and joint swelling of above three of the fourteen joints for at least a 6-week period, hand joints arthritis for at least 6 weeks, bilateral arthritis for 6 weeks, fat nodules in certain places, morning stiffness for more than an hour in a coverage of 6 weeks, x-ray changes with significant joint erosion, and a result of above the 95th percentile of the rheumatoid factor. At least four of these criteria have to be met as a consideration of RA as the disease.

However, this criterion is not intended to diagnose in the clinical care. Still, blood tests would be significant if the results are positive. The diagnostic criteria, together with the laboratory exams are confirmatory of rheumatoid arthritis.

Signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Seeking Information

It is important to deal these matters with a health professional. He can tell you what to do and give you several options as a treatment. The signs of rheumatoid arthritis should never be disregarded. Like any other disease, it should never be taken for granted.

Remember that small things start small, but they can definitely grow bigger in no time. Before anything worse happens, learn to seek help already. It’s better to get ahead of time and be treated than suffer the worse consequences of this condition.

Let Your Doctor Know

Because of complications combining drugs, herbal remedies or nutritional supplements, let your doctor, rheumatologist, acupuncturist or even your local witch doctor know what rheumatoid arthritis supplements you are taking. Ideally, you’ll ask them about taking rheumatoid arthritis supplements BEFORE you take them. That’s your safest option.

The Right Supplement For The Right Affliction

You also want to know that you are taking supplements specifically for rheumatoid arthritis and not for osteoarthritis, or any other kind of arthritis (and there over 100 more to choose from. Osteoarthritis does often respond well to nutritional supplements such as glucosamine - but not necessarily rheumatoid arthritis. It is still unknown whether diet plays any role with causing or aggravating rheumatoid arthritis.

Cod Liver Oil

The most touted rheumatoid arthritis supplement is cod liver oil. This is not to be confused with fish oil or cod fish oil - they are different oils, from different parts of the fish. You specifically need to take cod liver oil for about twelve weeks before you see any noticeable result. Some people repot feeling better after just ten days on cod liver oil, but that’s only for some people. The cost of cod liver oil is going up as the cod fish stocks deplete.

Tumeric

This common cooking herb is best known in Indian curries, making the food a characteristic yellow color. This is one of the most recommended herbal rheumatoid arthritis supplements by practitioners of alternative medicine. The most recommended dose is a 300 mg capsule one to three times a day. Be sure to follow the directions on the bottle.

The Bottom Line

Are rheumatoid arthritis supplements effective? Sadly, the answer is yes and no. Since everyone’s rheumatoid arthritis is different, then how any conventional drugs or alternative medicines are very hard to predict. Never take a supplement in the place of a doctor’s diagnosis. Some people find that using both alternative and conventional medical therapies works best at managing their rheumatoid arthritis.

So, What Is It, Then?

Around the joints, home to rheumatoid arthritis, is something called the synovial fluid. Remember in the preceding paragraph I mentioned that pathologists look to fun stuff like bodily fluids to help diagnose disease? Well, there you go. Another aspect of rheumatoid arthritis pathology is seeing if it has moved to other parts of the body like internal organs.

Rheumatoid arthritis, although still quite mysterious, is considered a disease of the body’s immune system. It basically makes the immune system go hyperactive, attacking even the body it is supposed to protect. This is why people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis often has many other physical complaints like gastritis or benign growths in the lungs. Rheumatoid arthritis pathology helps trace the course of the disease inside an individual’s body.

What About Other Diagnostic Tools For RA?

When you go to get tested for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you won’t usually get your synovial fluid tapped and shuttled off to a rheumatoid arthritis pathology lab. You usually get a blood test and an imagining test on your feet. It is only in very difficult to diagnose cases or in cases where it’s thought that the RA has spread to the inner organs that the rheumatoid arthritis pathology lab is called in.

There is no one definitive diagnostic test for rheumatoid arthritis. If there was, there would be a lot of dancing in the streets - well, for those who could who manage it. Currently, the blood test is not to find any mythical rheumatoid arthritis blood levels - it checks for anemia. About 80% of people with RA also have anemia.

And what about the feet testing thing? Your pain might be in your spine, your neck, your hips or your hands, but these goofy doctors are insisting on X-raying your feet. If you’re lucky, it’ll be an MRI of your feet and won’t that make your health insurance company happy? Anyway, there is a method to this madness. There are physical changes in the feet that signal the presence of RA. These changes show up in the feet before anywhere else.

Does that mean you can look forward to pain in your feet? Sadly, yes.

Some patients with shoulder pain suffer from Osteoarthritis. This is a common problem for many. This form of arthritis is from the daily wear and tear that is associated with daily routines. Patients that have played sports may find that as they age they are more prone to Osteoarthritis.

Another type of arthritis is Posttraumatic Arthritis and this develops due to an injury to the shoulder. The shoulder may become damaged and arthritis then develops, it is a form of osteoarthritis.

Both of these types of arthritis are centered in the shoulder. The pain is a result of everyday use and the treatment of these forms of arthritis is specific to this type of arthritis. This may include resting the shoulder, icing the shoulder and using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to help with the swelling. Surgery may be suggested and the results are usually very favorable with this type of arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis on the other hand is a systemic disease that belongs in the family of auto-immune diseases. This means that a person’s entire body is affected by the disease, and Rheumatoid Arthritis of the shoulder is probably not the only place a person has pain in their joints. Rheumatoid Arthritis of the shoulder can be extremely painful and a doctor may prescribe several ways to treat this condition.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Of The Shoulder: What Can Be Done

When a person has Rheumatoid Arthritis of the shoulder, they are often in pain elsewhere too. A doctor will generally prescribe either steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications to help with the swelling within the joint. They will also begin a drug protocol to help stop the progression of the disease.

With Rheumatoid Arthritis, patients can suffer severe joint damage and complete loss of motion in a joint. Rheumatoid Arthritis of the shoulder can also be treated with steroid injections directly into the site to help alleviate pain. Often this course of treatment brings immediate relief to the area. The patient will also be prescribed a specific drug protocol worked out by their physician to help with this degenerative disease.

It may take several months for patients to begin to feel truly better after they have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Patients may also find that they need to change the medications that they take in order to keep the disease in control.

Rheumatoid Arthritis of the shoulder is just part of the overall condition known as Rheumatoid Arthritis and patients need to seek medical advice in order to find out if this is a condition that they have.

If your symptoms point to rheumatoid arthritis, there are plenty of treatment options available to help you cope with the condition and reduce its effects. How do you know which aches or pains might actually be rheumatoid arthritis symptoms?

When to see a Doctor

Some of the most common rheumatoid arthritis symptoms are joint stiffness, swelling, and pain; joint nodules or hard bumps that appear near joints; fever; weight loss; and fatigue. The stiffness of joints will be most noticeable after you have been still for a long time, such as in the morning. Everyone has some joint stiffness in the morning; however, if it goes along with other rheumatoid arthritis symptoms it may indicate something more serious than regular stiffness.

The swelling and pain of joints are two of the most well-known rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. The intensity of your joint pain will vary based on a number of factors and can vary from day to day. Nodules typically appear near elbows and can be seen when the surrounding muscles are flexed.

The other rheumatoid arthritis symptoms listed are all-over symptoms that affect your whole body. These rheumatoid arthritis symptoms can make it very difficult to carry out your daily activities.

If these rheumatoid arthritis symptoms continue steadily for a week or two and seem to be getting progressively worse, you should see your doctor to have your symptoms checked out. Rheumatoid arthritis can move quickly, and left untreated it can result in joint deformities and problems with vital organs. That is why it is very important to tell your doctor about your symptoms as soon as possible.

Your Next Steps

Some rheumatoid arthritis symptoms may be controlled with the use of drugs such as pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs. Other drugs may not control symptoms immediately, but they can help to reduce the long-term damage that is done to the joints as well as organs that may be affected by the disease.

Although there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, medical and drug technology have made it possible to treat the symptoms and reduce the effect that rheumatoid arthritis symptoms have on your daily life.

Disease is only one of the many encounters that we should struggle on in life. Like other problem areas, we need to settle the troubles we get from a disease; and doing so would mean likely support from the people around us. The optimism to get cured rises as the number of reliable people increases. Below are some of the rheumatoid arthritis support groups, and they can aid you in dealing with your many faceted problems regarding your ailment.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Support from the Family

They say that the best rheumatoid arthritis support a sick person can get comes from the family. Even with other diseases, the kind of assistance that truly works is the one coming from the significant individuals. It has been a proven fact that if family aid is poor, the chance of recovery lowers at the same time.

Without rheumatoid arthritis support from the family, the condition is likely to result in depression. Since the disease has devastating effects, one truly needs emotional care and nourishment. Physicians also carry the responsibility of telling the family about the necessary ways to alleviate the patient’s condition. Hence, it is only the family who can decide whether to render support or not.

Sadly, millions of people do not receive rheumatoid arthritis support. However, organizations of different types have been instituted to fill in the gaps that the family cannot bring. Looking at the bright side, these support groups are tested and proven to be very beneficial in the patient’s prognosis. Over time, good outcomes have been noted to patients receiving support from other significant people.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Support from Oneself

Perhaps the most significant rheumatoid arthritis support is the one coming from yourself. It is essential to accept that you are sick and that you are in need of a medical person’s advice. After that, you can start moving on to the steps of recovery.

After the stage of denial, a person usual gears himself towards the path of wellness. One aims to do the necessary means of getting cured; thus, enabling himself to have a better prognosis ahead. Remember that all people deserve a healthy life, but the biggest factors come from the ones holding that life.