Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common among the numerous types of arthritis. It is a chronic autoimmune disorder. Apart from mainly affecting the joints, it can also harm the eyes, lungs, heart, blood vessels, nerve tissues, and even the bone marrow.

Rheumatoid arthritis is physically different from osteoarthritis as it causes joint stiffness attacking the synovium and not the wear-and-tear of the bone. The disease leads to certain deformities of the joints, as a result of which, physical disabilities could occur.

Causes of rheumatoid arthritis
The exact causes of rheumatoid arthritis are not distinctively known. Even doctors aren’t quite sure about how someone develops this disease. When the immune system attacks the synovium, it could lead to the development of rheumatoid arthritis. There are several genes which increase the risks of being affected with rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, there are a number of risk factors which could lead to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. These risk factors include family history, age, sex, environmental factors, obesity, and the habit of smoking.

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
The symptoms may be diverse in case of rheumatoid arthritis. In some cases, the patient can experience no symptoms at all during the initial phases of the disease. There are many symptoms one can still develop related to the joints in the case of this disease. These include the following:

• Swelling: The joints may swell up by the deposition of fluids, thereby making the joints tender.
• Pain: Joint inflammations are drastically painful in an acute condition of rheumatoid arthritis.
• Stiff joints: Difficulty to move the joints is common in the case of rheumatoid arthritis. Stiffness may occur in various joints like fingers, elbows, hips, jaws, knees, neck, shoulders, and even the wrists.

Some can experience symptoms that are noticed in different parts of the body; these are also related to rheumatoid arthritis. They are as follows:

• Muscle ache
• Depression
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue

Some may also experience visible symptoms related to the skin; in such situations, individuals could notice bumps on the different areas of the skin. Some of the areas where such bumps may arise are as follows:

• Back of the head
• Under the forearms
• Hand tendons
• Spinal base

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis that are experienced or noticed in the heart and lungs are as follows:

• Formation of myocarditis
• Shortness of breath
• Pain in the chest

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis related to the eye include the following:

• Dry eyes
• Cataracts
• Scleritis

Treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis
There are a diverse number of treatment options available for this disease. In various ways, the patients can be treated by the doctor.

Some of the types of treatments prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis include anti-inflammatory options, which can relieve pain. Certain prescription-based treatments can help keep an overactive immune system in check. This can prevent joint pain from worsening.

Regular exercise can also help a patient manage rheumatoid arthritis by reducing overall discomfort. With effective treatment, those with the condition can regain their strength as well.

Surgical methods are also available which may be recommended by the doctors in certain cases. Replacement surgeries are mainly done on the knees and hips as per the treatment prescribed. The mobility can be increased and the individual’s quality of life can be improved to a great extent with this method.

Therapeutic massages are nowadays also becoming applicable to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Physiotherapists can suggest the types of workouts that the patients can do to ease dealing with the pain and inflammation.