...Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect more than just your joints. In some people, the condition also can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels. An autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body's tissues. Unlike the wear-and-tear damage of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining of your joints, causing a painful swelling that can eventually result in bone erosion and joint deformity. The inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis is what can damage other parts of the body as well. While new types of medications have improved treatment options dramatically, severe rheumatoid arthritis can still cause physical disabilities. Symptoms & causes. March 18, 2016 Print Share on: Facebook Twitter References RelatedEase rheumatoid arthritis symptoms in the morning Rheumatoid arthritis: Can it affect the lungs? Tips for coping with rheumatoid arthritis Care for your lawn and garden without hurting your joints Living a full life with rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis and exercise Is depression a factor in rheumatoid arthritis? Who gets rheumatoid arthritis? How can I decrease the fatigue of rheumatoid arthritis? Limit rheumatoid arthritis pain when you grocery shop Rheumatoid arthritis: Which joints are most commonly affected? Rheumatoid arthritis...
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...Bridget Acosta Anatomy and Physiology RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS * INTRODUCTION Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that exerts its greatest impact on those joints of the body that are lined with synovium, a specialized tissue responsible for maintaining the nutrition and lubrication of the joint. The distribution of joints affected (synovial joints) is characteristic. It typically affects the small joints of the hands and the feet, and usually both sides equally in a symmetrical distribution, though any synovial joint can be affected. In patients with established and aggressive disease, most joints will be affected over time. Joint inflammation is characterized by redness, warmth, swelling, and pain within the joint. In addition to affecting the joints, rheumatoid arthritis may occasionally affect the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, blood, or nerves. * SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS The initial trigger for RA is unknown. There is evidence to suggest abnormalities in components of the immune system that lead to the body developing abnormal immune and inflammatory reactions, particularly in joints. These changes may precede the symptomatic onset of RA by many years. Whatever sets the pathology in motion results in a large increase in blood flow to the joint (giving heat and sometimes redness), proliferation of the synovial membrane with an increase in synovial fluid (swelling), and pain (due to stretching of pain receptors in the soft tissues around, and the bone...
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...JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS Kevin Weller Kaplan University College Composition II CM220 Prof: Diana Gerow August 26, 2012 JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS There is currently no known cause and no cure for Juvenile Arthritis, so it is my goal to raise awareness for those in the community that are not aware that children can get arthritis. Many people believe that arthritis only affects older people or those who have worked hard and abused their body over many years. Children still need support to remain active to try and beat the pain and stiffness they are dealing with daily and the community is also important to help support the efforts to find a cure and help those currently impacted with the disease. Juvenile arthritis affects children under the age of 16. JRA can show up overnight and blood tests cannot determine if a child has arthritis. There is currently no cause or cure for this disease that affects 50,000 children in the United States. JRA is often misunderstood or mistaken for other conditions, and thus parents need to learn the signs of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, how to find appropriate medical intervention, and what best practices they can use at home. Juvenile Arthritis is an inflammatory condition that develops in children ages 16 years and younger. Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis is the most common type and there is no known cause although hereditary seems to play a part. Arthritis affects approximately 1 out of every 100,000 children mildly and...
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...Research Project Number 40904000. There are many different types of Arthritis. Some of these types are caused by infections, some by injury, some by aging, and some by entirely unknown causes. Infectious arthritis may follow influenza, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, syphilis or gonorrhea. Arthritis of an unknown cause is common and Rheumatoid arthritis is the worst form. Chronic arthritis is common. It has three main forms: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout. Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory condition of one or more joints the main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. This is the most common form of arthritis. This disease is known as a degenerative joint disease. It affects about 80% of all Americans. The pain is caused by the degeneration of the joint. The damage to the cartilage occurs as the disease progresses and degenerates and may form some bony spurs at the end of the bones. The bones may grind against each other. Cartilage normally serves as a shock-absorbing cushion between the bones. When it breaks down it results in bones rubbing directly against one another during movement. This friction between the bones causes the bone to thicken, and spurs develop .As time goes on; these abrasions can cause permanent joint damage. Osteoarthritis is most common in the knees, hips, hands and spine. Rheumatoid arthritis is the worst form arthritis. It is a chronic autoimmune disease which affects the connective tissue...
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...Human NutritionProfessor Chitra Wendakoon | Rheumatoid Arthritis | By Daniel Schramm | Schramm 2/24/2013 | What is Rheumatoid Arthritis? Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease that we do not get from a virus or human contact. The disease is our own body’s immune system turned against its self. Your immune system is an assembly of cells and organs intended to safeguard your body from external intruders. Your structure comprises the spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils, bone marrow and white blood cells. All these work collectively to fight off germs and infections that can harm you or make you sick. When your immune system is not working properly, it sees your own body as an enemy which it attacks, therefore generating a potential illness with an auto immune disease such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). There are several types of auto immune diseases that can upset the body; more notably, the heart, lungs kidneys, brain as well as the joints. Since the 1930′s researchers have been exploring the link between diet and arthritis. We continue to hear claims that special diets, foods and supplements may help to cure or alleviate symptoms of arthritis, but most claims are unproven. Many experts speculate that claims of nutritional remedies and cures with food or dietary supplements are related to the “placebo affect”. The placebo effect is the patient’s perception of improved symptoms and well-being, resulting from new therapy, regardless of evidence for actual...
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...joints is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disorder. An autoimmune disorder is defined as a condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s healthy tissues. Rheumatoid Arthritis is not only painful it is often debilitating. This painful disorder is caused from the synovial membrane of a joint becomes inflamed and thickened. Once this occurs damage to the articular cartilage occurs, which leads to fibrous tissue to infiltrate, interfering with joint movements. The 72 year old patient reports symptoms that occur in the same joints on both sides of the body and are worse when she first wakes up, which is symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis. Symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis include: - Fever - Weight Loss - Tender, warm, swollen joints - Morning stiffness - Fatigue - Pain and swelling can occur in the same joints on both sides of your body. The doctor will perform a physical exam checking the joints for redness, warmth and swelling. Checking the patients muscle strength and reflexes can also help determine if the she is suffering from this condition. Other test such as blood tests can be performed on the patient but can be difficult to diagnose during the early stages of this disorder because the early signs and symptoms mimic may other diseases. Blood tests that that check the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, patients with rheumatoid arthritis tend to have and elevated sedimentation rate, and tests that look for rheumatoid...
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...Campbell Date: October 26, 2014 Subject: Biological Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder. It causes chronic inflammation within the joints. People such as myself who have close family members with this disorder are at higher risk of developing the disease. There is no cure for this diseases but there are numerous ways to control and manage the swelling, pain, stiffness, and redness that occurs within the joints. The purpose of this memorandum is to present an analysis of a group of people who would read this report. This report is being created for an Advanced Technical writing class. The goal of this project is to analyze the effectiveness of Biologic Therapy for treating Rheumatoid Arthritis. This report will compare the benefits of Biological Medications with its risks. Audience: There are could possibly be several types of readers who would benefit from reading this technical report. There are 6 main types of readers for this report. The first type of reader would be someone currently suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis who takes Biologic medication for pain control. The second type of reader would be someone who is currently suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis who has discontinued the use of Biologic therapies for controlling their pain. The third type of reader would be someone who is suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis who uses natural treatments as a way to manage their pain. These first three types of readers...
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...as the “wear and tear” arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis (Shiel, 2014). Many believe that the treatment of arthritis is limited to splinting, applying cold packs, and anti-inflammatory medications, but there is another type of treatment on the rise that can include multiple additional benefits on top of relieving pain; incorporating exercise into the daily lives of those with arthritis. With unique exercise...
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...Primary Care Physician Initial Evaluation: Patient Name: Mrs. Wright (53 years old) Description: Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis HISTORY: Mrs. Wright is a 53-year old female who visited Dr. Curtis on 9/21/2013 for devastating pain dealing with her rheumatoid arthritis. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis on 4/2/2010 by Dr. Ruppert. She was later diagnosed with osteoporosis on 8/5/2010. Along with her arthritis pain, she has other conditions such as: Raynaud syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome-associated constipation (IBS-C), gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), and chronic urinary tract and upper respiratory infections. She has gained weight because of the lack of exercise she has performing. Wright complains she is too tired to work out and gets tired throughout the day performing normal activities. She also insists she cannot work out because she always gets hot flashes from her menopause and is simply too hot to work out. Wright also explained she lives alone and cannot always go to see a physician because she cannot get someone to drive her there. She is no longer taking the three medications, hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, and prednisone, prescribed by Dr. Ruppert. She explains she had experienced intolerable side effects, including reflux, alopecia, and severe photosensitivity. Dr. Ruppert ordered a comprehensive laboratory evaluation and identified the following: IgG4 food-specific antibodies, essential fatty acid and amino acid imbalances, nutrient...
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...Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsens with age. The two most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is usually caused by normal wear and tear, while rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder. Other types of arthritis can be caused by uric acid crystals, infections or even an underlying disease—such as psoriasis or lupus. Treatments vary, depending on the type of arthritis. The main goals of arthritis treatments are to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life. The most common signs and symptoms of arthritis involve the joints. Depending on the type of arthritis you have, your signs and symptoms may include: Pain Stiffness Swelling Redness Decreased range of motion Causes of the pain associated with arthritis is caused by joint damage. Joints are made up of the following parts: Cartilage. A hard, but slick, coating on the ends of bones, cartilage allows bones of the joint to slide smoothly over each other. Joint capsule. This tough membrane encloses all the joint parts. Synovium. This thin membrane lines the joint capsule and secretes synovial fluid, which lubricates the joint and nourishes the cartilage. The two main types of arthritis damage joints in different ways. Osteoarthritis. In osteoarthritis, wear and tear damages to cartilage can result in bone...
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...patients with Rheumatoid arthritis in Madurai Arthritis and Rheumatism centre, Madurai,Tamilnadu.Quantitative approach was used to collect data. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 60 samples with rheumatoid Arthritis of which 30 were in experimental and 30 were in control group. Experimental group received nursing intervention(hydrotherapy) for 30 minutes twice a week for 4 weeks and control group received only routine treatment.The data was organized and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics....
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...The cause of the disorder Jasmine Ray Westwood (MA) Rough Draft Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term form of inflammatory arthritis of the joints in addition to surrounding tissues. This can also affect the organs. This is resulting in painful immobility, in the fingers, wrists, feet, and ankles. The immune system is designed towards protecting our well-being by attacking foreign cells like viruses and bacteria. Instead it attacks the body’s own tissues, a thin membrane that lines the joints. RA is a chronic disease meaning it can’t be cured. In some individuals the disorder is continuously active and gets worse over time. Others have long periods of remission. The cause of the disorder The cause of RA is still unknown. Infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi have long been suspected, none has been proven as the cause. What happen is the white blood cells over react to stimuli inside the body. Instead of protecting the body like it normally do from disease or infection, the immune system attacks and destroys the body’s tissues that are healthy. This chronic inflammatory condition that also effects other tissue. Autoimmune diseases often run in families many may develop different type of autoimmune disease. This genetic difference puts related family members at an increased risk for one or more autoimmune diseases. RA often improves during pregnancy. Certain proteins passed between the mother and unborn child may be responsible...
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...Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a musculoskeletal and autoimmune disease, which causes the body’s immune system to target and attack primarily its own joints and joint linings (Brodwin, Tellez, & Brodwin, 2009, p. 124). Since RA is a systematic disease, it affects the body as a whole, and is not limited only to joints. The inflammation and pain can spread from the joints, into the cartilage, connective tissue, and ultimately into adjacent organs (Cush, Kavanaugh, & Stein, 2005, p. 323). After the initial diagnosis of RA, there are three classifications that RA can develop into. The first is called Monocyclic RA, which means that an individual is afflicted with a single episode of inflammation, lasting up to five years, and then enters remission....
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...According to the CDC, arthritis affects over 52 million American adults, with an estimated 67 million projected to have activity limitations by the year 2030 (CDC, 2015, para. 2). Arthritis the inflammation of one or more joints, resulting in symptoms that include stiffness and joint pain that often worsen with age. “Arthritis” is the general time for a musculoskeletal ailment, but there exist several types of arthritic conditions. Of these, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune form of the disease associated with progressive disability, systemic complications, early death, and socioeconomic costs (McInnes & Schett, 2011, p. 2205). The purpose of this discussion is to provide a disease process and management overview of rheumatoid...
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... * numbness and tingling * blurring of vision * problems with mobility and balance * muscle weakness and tightness * MS can damage nerve fibres in your brain and spinal cord, which can cause muscles to contract tightly and painfully (spasm). Your muscles may also become stiff and resistant to movement, which is known as spasticity. * Neuropathic pain – caused by damage to the nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord. It can be a stabbing pain, extreme skin sensitivity, or a burning sensation. * difficulty emptying the bladder completely * having to urinate more frequently * having a sudden, urgent need to urinate which can lead to unintentionally passing urine (urge incontinence) Treatment There’s no cure for MS but there are different ways to manage...
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