Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease (affecting about 0.5% of the adult population) much more frequent in females, but which can affect people of both sexes and affect any age group, causing pain, swelling and stiffness joint, also associating an annoying limitation of movement and function of the affected joints. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects tendons, muscles, symmetrical joints, synovium and bursae, but can also affect other tissues in the body.
In this short guide I will let you find out what are the symptoms, the causes and which tips to treat and live with this disease now quite common.

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

Let's find out what are the main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis:

• Swelling
• Pain
• Feeling of heat
• Stiffness of the affected parts and swelling of the affected joints

With symptoms so obvious, the first consequences to which these symptoms can lead are certainly problems in the movements, and therefore the limitation of the use of the affected parts of the body. Certainly the most common ones affected by rheumatoid arthritis are the hands, the wrists, the knees, the ankles. Obviously this does not mean that there is no possibility of seeing this disease appear in other parts of the body such as muscles, tendons and, in some cases, internal organs.

Symptoms can occur mainly when there is greater stiffness in the joints, such as in the morning, and in non-severe cases the situation can improve with the passing of the day and especially with the movement. In the most serious and serious cases, however, the passing of the hours and the movement does not at all relieve the stiffness of the joints, which instead extends throughout the day.

In fact, rheumatoid arthritis also preserves other symptoms, such as muscle pain, dry mouth and eye, fever, fatigue and asthenia, weight loss, presence of calcifications in the inflamed joints that tend to deform the area also in a conspicuous manner.

If you want to know more about it, you can read this brief guide on rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.

What are the causes of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease triggered by several factors, the causes of which are unfortunately not yet known. The good news, however, is that the latest data from the latest scientific research have highlighted some important factors for the activation and maintenance of inflammation. In the next lines
I will try to explain in a simple way how this mechanism works, observing it a little more closely.

It may seem strange, but one of the factors highlighted concerns the immune system: normally in fact, this is intended to defend the body from bacterial and viral infections, while it is observed that in people with rheumatoid arthritis produces by mistake of the antibodies that attack the synovial membrane causing pain and inflammation.

Not sure what the synovial membrane is? I'll explain it right away: the synovial membrane is the main responsible for the production of synovial fluid, necessary for the lubrication and nourishment of articular cartilage. Now, the substances released by the diseased immune cells instead cause inflammation with consequent swelling and subsequent damage of both cartilage and bone, present within the joint.

In fact, inflammation consequently generates chemicals called cytokines, which cause the thickening of the synovial membrane and damage the cartilages, tendons, bones and surrounding ligaments. Even if they are not treated, the cytokines can also cause the deformation of the joint and destroy it.

What are the subjects at risk

To date, science is not able to respond firmly to this question, but the most credible hypotheses claim that rheumatoid arthritis manifests itself in genetically predisposed individuals when exposed to an event or a triggering agent such as a virus, or a bacterium that triggers the immune reaction.

Possible risk factors for the appearance of rheumatoid arthritis include genetic factors, as sometimes the disease occurs in members of the same family but, as the inherited risk is very low, it is believed that the genes are involved only in a limited way . Other risk factors include hormonal factors, given the increased prevalence of the disease among women. In fact, female hormones, estrogens, could play a role in the causes of rheumatoid arthritis.
Last but not least, there is smoking, since smokers may have more chances of getting rheumatoid arthritis.

The remedies

If you are reading this article looking for advice on how to treat rheumatoid arthritis, the only advice I can give is to contact a medical specialist as soon as possible. Fortunately, in fact, the medicine has done about the steps forward and today rheumatoid arthritis can be effectively countered if taken in time, thanks to an early diagnosis. The therapy allows very often to obtain complete or partial regression of the symptoms and the consequent recovery of joint function. Medical treatment is aimed at preventing structural damage and the appearance of deformity, allowing the subject to lead a normal life.

The medical remedies of rheumatoid arthritis provide for drug therapy and physiotherapy. Obviously medical care is not the same for each individual, but changes according to the patient and therefore to the severity of the disease. Unfortunately, it is not yet able to cure rheumatoid arthritis altogether, but its number one goal is still to reduce symptoms and improve disability.

Regarding rheumatoid arthritis drugs, two main categories are usually prescribed:

• Symptomatic drugs: serve to alleviate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
• The underlying drugs: slow down the process of disease growth thanks to the action of active ingredients with immunosuppressive effect

Finally, there are also natural remedies that have as a first point to follow a regular diet, assisted by adequate physical activity. In fact, a healthy diet and regular physical activity are essential to help the patient to gradually recover joint function. Furthermore, they are essential for helping the body to respond to medication care in an important way.

Rheumatoid arthritis and magnetotherapy

Another way to help treat rheumatoid arthritis and recover features of the affected joints is to do regular cycles of magnet therapy. In fact, thanks to the benefits deriving from pulsed magnetic fields, magnetotherapy substantially helps to regress inflammation and pain. Although magnetic therapy can not and must not in any way replace the drugs that are taken for rheumatoid arthritis, it is an excellent natural adjuvant and is an excellent ally against rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, since there are no problems of overdose and side effects, regular annual cycles of magnetotherapy can make a difference to the healing process of a chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. If you want to know more about them benefits of magnetotherapy, click here. If you want to know how set up the magnet therapy device to treat rheumatoid arthritis, read this short article.

Conclusions

We have seen how rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease with which many people are forced to live together. If you think you are recognized in the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and you have not yet consulted your doctor, the advice is to do it as soon as possible, because if taken in time, you have a good chance of regressing the disease over time even totally.
Thank you for coming here, I hope this brief informative guide has been helpful! If so, share this article, you could help someone else to inform themselves consciously about rheumatoid arthritis!