Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of more than 100 different types of arthritis. About 1.5 million women, men, and children in the United States have been diagnosed with RA.
Unlike the more common osteoarthritis (OA), RA isn’t the result of aging, injury, or overuse. Instead, it’s a manifestation of an overreactive immune system that attacks its own tissues.
Although all forms of arthritis share some signs and symptoms, their different origins require different treatments. So if you have joint pain, you shouldn’t conclude that you have OA. With RA, you may need specialized medications and treatments.
At the Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, our rheumatologists are experts in treating all forms of arthritis, including RA. At our offices in Somerville, Flemington, and Monroe, New Jersey, we diagnose your joint pain and customize a treatment plan.
What are the warning signs that your stiff, painful joints are RA? Following are six of the most common signs of RA.
Usually, if you have osteoarthritis, you notice that your joints are stiff after they’ve been immobilized for a while, such as during sleep or inactivity. This happens because you don’t have enough synovial tissue to produce sufficient amounts of lubrication. It gets dry and tacky when your joints are at rest.
But within a few minutes of moving around, your synovium produces fluid. The stiffness subsides, so you can move without pain or restriction.
But if you have RA, even after you move around, your joints may still be stiff. It may take hours for your joints to feel better because the pain and stiffness is due to inflammation, not lack of synovial fluid.
If you have osteoarthritis, you may have it only in one knee or one wrist. The joint that you use most often or that you injured is the one most likely to develop pain and stiffness.
With RA, though, you don’t develop joint pain because you’re right-handed or tend to favor one leg over the other. Your overreactive immune system attacks your cartilage, bursae, and other supportive tissues in your joints at the same time. So, if you have arthritis in one knee, you often have it in the other one, too.
Osteoarthritis is due to degraded tissues, while RA is due to inflamed tissues. One sign that you have RA and not another form of arthritis is that your joints feel warm, tender, or may look pink or red.
Eventually, with untreated RA, the swelling may become so severe that your joints become distorted. Your joints may become so deformed that they can’t function anymore. Eventually, RA may attack your organs, too.
Your immune system is on overdrive in RA. Since your body is in a chronic attack mode, it drains you of energy. You may find yourself feeling fatigued and run down. You may also feel weak and not up to performing your normal activities.
Even before the joint pain and stiffness begin, you may have a warning sign that you’re about to develop (or have already developed) RA. This autoimmune disease sometimes causes your body to develop a fever.
If you have joint pain and unexplained weight loss, you may have RA. Since the disease affects your immune system, it can alter the way your body functions. It’s common to lose your appetite and, eventually, to lose weight, too.
Some of the most common joints in the hands to be affected by OA are the joints that are close to the tips of your fingers. Interestingly, RA usually skips those same joints. If you have arthritis in other finger joints, but not the top joints, you may have RA.
No matter what type of arthritis you have, you might benefit from lifestyle changes such as:
But RA needs special treatment to turn down the volume on your immune system so that swollen tissues subside. You may need medications that address the underlying immune disorder before you can begin to address the damage to your tissues from RA.
Don’t guess when it comes to joint pain: Find out if you have RA or another inflammatory condition that endangers your joints and puts you at risk for severe complications. Phone our helpful team or use our online form to request an appointment today.
We’re located in Somerville, Monroe, and Flemington, New Jersey.
