Is Your Joint Pain Old Age or RA?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that expresses itself by causing inflammation in the lining of the joints. The lining of the joints is called the synovium and in the first stage of rheumatoid arthritis the synovium becomes inflamed and causes swelling and pain around the joint. It is hard at this stage to diagnose the pain and swelling around the joint as rheumatoid arthritis as other less serious conditions can cause pain in the joints.

In the second stage of rheumatoid arthritis a process of cell division called pannus causes the synovium to become very thick. This makes movement in the joint very difficult and painful. In the third stage the inflamed cells release an enzyme that eats away at cartilage and bone. This causes the joints to become deformed causing a loss of mobility.

Like other chronic diseases, rheumatoid arthritis has flare ups, in which symptoms worsen and periods of time where the disease seems stable. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that can affect other organs in the body. That is one reason early detection of this type is arthritis is very important. Aggressive treatment of rheumatoid arthritis early on in this disease can limit the damage done to affected joints and slow the overall progress of the disease.

When you go to the doctor with joint pain the doctor will first take a detailed medical history. Their questions will focus on your history of joint pain and how much the pain keeps you from your daily routine. There are two different scales and questionnaires the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS).

The doctor may use to these written tests help diagnose your condition. The doctor may also order lab tests and x-rays. You may have to undergo this process on several different doctors' visit before the doctor gives you a definitive diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

We know very little about the disease of rheumatoid arthritis other than there seem to be factors such as gender and genetics play a significant role in who will develop rheumatoid arthritis. It does tend to run in families and women are three times more likely than men to develop this form of arthritis. We also know that this form of arthritis is an autoimmune disease which just simply means that people that develop the disease have an immune system that does not function properly

Rheumatoid arthritis is said to affect more than 1.3 million Americans. The cause of rheumatoid is not known and there is no known cure. Yet advancements in medication, exercise, and methods of joint protection mean that those diagnoses with rheumatoid arthritis can lead more productive and less painful lives.

http://www.medicinenet.com/rheumatoid_arthritis/article.htm

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/rheumatoidarthritis.html