Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis is the term used for over 100 rheumatoid and joint related diseases, with the most common being Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. The word arthritis refers to “joint inflammation” and rheumatoid arthritis is actually an attack on the immune system where the system turns on itself and attacks the joints.

The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis affect each person differently but in general have the same affects. Rheumatoid arthritis is a symmetrical pattern disease, which means that if one side of the body if affected, the other side is affected at the same time as well. Joint tenderness, swelling and stiffness can last for more then an hour after a long rest period and in the mornings as well, in some cases, rheumatoid arthritis symptoms can last for an extended period. Malaise is the most common symptom of this disease; it is a general feeling of fatigue and can have a persistent fever with an overall sense of not feeling well.

The symptoms that distinguish rheumatoid arthritis from other forms of arthritis are inflammation and soft-tissue swelling of many joints at the same time. Thus, the pain of rheumatoid arthritis is usually worse in the morning compared to the classic pain of osteoarthritis where the pain worsens over the day as the joints are used. It is 4 times more common in smokers than non-smokers. More than two million people in the United States are affected by rheumatoid arthritis. This disease is three times more common in women than in men.

The main physical difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is that with osteoarthritis when the cartilage between the bone ends has worn thin the pain results from the bone ends rubbing together. And with rheumatoid arthritis the cartilage is not thinned but the fluid filled membrane surrounding the joint becomes inflamed and the bones can actually start eroding.

Some professionals also believe that rheumatoid arthritis can be caused from a trigger like an infection caused by bacterium or a virus in people that have the inherited tendency for the rheumatoid arthritis disease. Rheumatoid arthritis in a way, may be triggered through a virus, yet it is not something that is contagious and you cannot give it to other people, you cannot ?catch it?