Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) affects millions around the globe and has no cure. It is a chronic disease and can affect body organs but the most notable problem areas are joints. There is no single cause known for this health problem. It can affect anybody at any age but chances of having it increase with advancing age. Also, women are more predisposed than males to get RA.
The symptoms of RA develop gradually, and show no single pattern in all patients. In some the symptoms alternate with unpredictable periods of relief, in some these symptoms never go away and become a part of a patient’s daily life. Therefore, the onset of symptoms, their severity, pattern, and resulting disability vary significantly from one person to other.
Although no cure is available, treatment remains the cornerstone to lessen the pain and discomfort due to this sometimes crippling disease. The treatment usually includes conventional drugs and other non-drug alternatives. In rare cases surgery may be necessary to relieve the severity of symptoms.
If you’re having pain from rheumatoid arthritis, your healthcare professional will plan a treatment protocol on the basis of your individual case. After taking a complete history, physical exam, and laboratory testing, a treatment plan is devised to manage this problem to help you maintain the best quality of life possible. If you are having some concurrent diseases like diabetes or a heart problem, the treatment will need to be tailored accordingly.
The major goal of RA treatment is to control your pain and stiffness along with other symptoms to improve quality of life and to facilitate your ability to perform daily tasks including your work. Minimizing or eliminating the inflammation—a predominant sign of rheumatoid arthritis—is the major step towards successful management of RA. Such treatment will halt or reduce the inflammation process and resulting damage to your joint cartilage and other structures.
The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis usually includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs also commonly called (NSAIDs), disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and biologic response modifiers along with proper rest, moderate regular exercise, a good nutrition plan, and sometimes even physical therapy and or counseling.
Unfortunately, RA is a progressive disease, meaning it usually gets worse over time, and it has no known cure. The symptoms in the majority of patients are often gradual and progressive. Even with treatment, inflammatory processes continue at some level. Continuous inflammation damages joint structures and other body organs and often such damage is non-reversible and permanent.
As a result of chronic long term RA patients may suffer extremely discomforting stiffness of joints, loss of joint function, and chronic pain. These severe problems and limitations they create is why rheumatoid arthritis is a leading cause of people filing for and winning Social Security Disability benefits.