Rheumatoid Arthritis Introduction

There is even less understood about the second type of arthritis, RA. Rheumatoid arthritis refers to the body’s immune system attacking joint tissue. Still not fully understood in the medical community, this condition most often starts in a person’s hands, wrists and feet, it can progress to the shoulders, elbows and hips. About 2% of the world’s population suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis and the disease strikes three times more often among women than among men. Rheumatoid Arthritis can strike at any age and involves an inflammation of joint tissues associated with the release of toxic substances in the synovium that leads to cartilage destruction.

Another difference is that Rheumatoid Arthritis is more closely associated to  hereditary, a person is more likely to develop Rheumatoid Arthritis if a sibling or parent had it.

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disease of the joints. Arthritis attacks the synovial tissue, the membrane that lines the joints and provides the lubricant that allows joints to move easily. It affects more than 2 million people in the US and can be one of the more disabling forms of arthritis.  Rheumatoid Arthritis is a long term illness where the muscle and membrane linings of the joints and cartilage deteriorate.

Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis is, commonly referred to as an "auto-immune" disorder. No one knows for sure the causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis, but most researchers and medical scientists agree that the inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis appears to be due to a disorder in the body's immune system. The body's own immune system begins to attack the delicate lining of certain joints.  The synovium, the membrane surrounding a joint, becomes inflamed, resulting in a buildup of lymphoid cells, resulting in the degeneration of bone, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. Some agent, perhaps the Epstein-Barr virus, may trigger the initial joint inflammation, resulting in the production of antibodies. This is where the gene factor is thought to play a role. It is thought that an a congenitally defective gene then alters the antibody that was produced to fight the inflammation, so that it is recognized as foreign to the body. The immune system then mounts a massive defense against this factor. This immune response gone awry results in the arthritis painful swelling and inflammation characterized by arthritis.

 The tissue becomes swollen, hot and arthritis painful making the joint stiff and difficult to move. In severe cases, the swollen and deformed joints may become partly or completely dislocated, causing considerable discomfort and problems with walking if the knee or foot joints are affected. The tendons can sometime become so weak that they can break. Pain relief from RA can come from a correction in diet, minerals, and vitamins.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

Chronic inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis can cause damage to body tissues, cartilage and bone. This leads to a loss of cartilage and erosion and weakness of the bones as well as the muscles, resulting in deformed joints and loss of function. The inflammation brought on by Rheumatoid Arthritis can also affect organs and areas of the body other than the joints such as the the glands of the eyes and mouth, the lungs, and heart. It causes anemia in some cases, increasing the the risk of infections. Rheumatoid nodules (firm lumps) can also develop around the elbows and fingers where there is frequent pressure. Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms will vary from person to person and from day to day but the common warning signs are:

• Morning stiffness
• stiffness, swelling and tenderness of the joints most often in the wrist, hands and feet
• arthritis pain, redness and warmth in a joint
• Fatigue, loss of appetite and weakness often with a fever

Read on for both medical and natural treatment approaches

Some of our Moist Heat wraps  for Arthritis   ....