Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often starts suddenly, and mysteriously, causing you to ask yourself what could be the source of this debilitating joint pain, stiffness or swelling, or that general feeling of illness. After medical office visits, examinations and tests, getting your rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis is at least an answer to why your body is going through such sudden changes. But you may have many more questions and concerns about how RA could affect your daily life.

RA is a Chronic, Autoimmune Disease

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that currently has no cure. It’s chronic, which means it lasts for life. It is also systemic, or a disease that affects many different organs and areas of the body, not just one.

Autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s immune system, which normally produces disease-fighting agents to attack foreign invaders like bacteria or viruses, mysteriously turns against itself. Instead of protecting the body, these agents often attack it, causing inflammation. In a person with RA, inflammatory agents are overproduced and inflammation rages unchecked.

How Could RA Affect My Body?

RA typically attacks joints, and often strikes in symmetric fashion, meaning it attacks matching joints like knees, hands or hips on both sides of the body.

What you can expect when inflammation strikes your joints may include:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Redness
• Stiffness
• Tenderness
• Reduced flexibility

In addition, you may experience terrible fatigue, or an all-over weariness that saps your strength, making it difficult to perform your job or daily tasks like housework or taking care of yourself or your children. You might notice joint stiffness strikes more strongly in the morning, just as you wake up for the day.

If you typically wake up early to shower, dress, help your family get ready for their days, or make breakfast, RA may make you feel as if you can’t even get out of bed. Some people with RA modify their morning routines to leave more time for a hot shower or flexibility stretching to ease stiffness and pain.

You may notice general feelings of illness at times. These symptoms could feel like the flu, and include body aches or nausea. You might also experience unexplained weight loss. Your ability to grip with your hands – to hold a pen or a cooking spoon – may be reduced. In addition, probably due to these symptoms, you might experience mood swings or feelings of loss and sadness. All of these symptoms may be addressed with medications and with regular physical activity, but you should inform your doctor if you experience any of them.

RA affects the entire body, so in some cases it may strike other organs like the heart, lungs, eyes, spleen, skin and mouth, causing inflammation that could be serious. About half the people with RA develop lumps of tissue under the skin called rheumatoid nodules. These can be sensitive and make activities using those affected joints more difficult – such as holding a pen if a nodule develops on the finger. Others may develop irritating skin rashes, or even a serious inflammation of the blood vessels called vasculitis.

RA could cause pericarditis, an inflammation of the heart lining that can cause chest pain. RA could also cause a condition called scleritis, an eye inflammation that could impair vision. While you may not experience these conditions, you and your healthcare professionals should monitor all of your organs and systems to watch for inflammation. In other words, getting regular eye exams and physicals is very important if you have RA.

RA Could Damage Joints Permanently

Over time, inflammation can cause serious damage to joints. RA’s inflammation may break down the internal components of the joint, including the synovium, the slippery fluid that lines and lubricates the joints and helps the joint move and function normally. As joints erode, you’ll experience increasing pain and stiffness.

If not treated early with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), RA-affected joints could become deformed, making them difficult or impossible to use. For example, if rheumatoid arthritis inflammation damages the finger joints, your fingers might become twisted and gnarled, making opening a jar or buttoning a shirt impossible. If RA affects your hips, bending over to pick up the newspaper might be too painful to do. Sitting at your desk typing could cause stiffness and fatigue.

RA inflammation can cause joints to lose their range of motion, or the normal distance that you move a joint in various directions to perform normal tasks – anything from gripping your car steering wheel to climbing a set of stairs. You feel much less flexible, making it harder to walk, bend, grasp, lift or reach up. In time, you might avoid physical activities as much as possible, becoming sedentary. Doing so would eventually reduce your muscle strength, making daily activities even harder. As a result of the inactivity, you’d likely gain weight.

New inflammation-fighting drugs can help reduce symptoms, but it’s important for anyone with RA to engage in regular physical activity. Your daily routine with RA should include joint-friendly cardiovascular activity to rev the heart, such as walking, as well as range-of-motion exercises to keep joints flexible and restore function. Strengthening exercises can also keep muscles fit to help support RA-affected joints like knees or hips, and make affected joints easier to use for gripping, bending, walking and other motions.

A Better Long-Term Outlook
For People With Rheumatoid Arthritis

For years, people with RA not only experienced debilitating pain, stiffness and swelling and overall fatigue, they commonly developed joint deformity. Doctors also noticed that the life span of people with RA was shorter than those without the disease.

In the late 1990s, a new category of DMARDs called biologic response modifiers (biologics) was approved to treat RA. These medications suppress the immune system’s production of inflammation-causing agents. With these new drugs on the market, as well as a more thorough understanding of how the disease works and how to address its effects, the long-term outlook for people with RA is much better. 

You can and should change certain aspects of your daily routine to improve your life with RA and control your symptoms. Each day, you should incorporate range-of-motion and other exercises to keep your body healthy and joints flexible. Adopt a healthful, balanced diet lower in fat and higher in fresh, nutrient-rich foods. Comply with your doctor’s instructions on taking your medications properly. Make enough time for rest to avoid overusing tender joints and to recharge your body. Modify activities when necessary to avoid joint injuries, such as using assistive devices for tasks like opening cans or gardening. If you smoke, you should stop or seek help to do so.

Today, people with RA can lead active, fulfilling lives, staying at their jobs, raising their families, participating in hobbies and activities, and enjoying intimate relationships with their partners. RA symptoms can be controlled with help from your doctor, and a daily commitment from you.