What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

(Also called: RA, atrophic arthritis)
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an inflammatory condition that tends to affect all of the joints of the body. Specifically, it affects a couple of inflammatory mediators – interleukin 6, interleukin 12 , tumor necrosis factor alpha. These things are hyper-inflammatory cytokines that go and and attack your own body. So what can happen is that your hands can end up turning out – you can’t pick up your kid anymore. You can’t take the cap off the pickle jar. You can’t open doors. Everything becomes a stretch, even to the point where your joints can break down so much that your spine can actually fuse and create life-long back pain.

– Dr. Goodbinder

Signs & Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Pain in the back, joints or muscles
• Bumps on your hands or swelling of the hands
• Joint stiffness, swelling, tenderness or weakness
• Anemia, fatigue or malaise
• Difficulty in healing from injury
• Numbness or tingling sensation in the hands
• Pairs of achy joints, or achy joints that last longer than a week.