According to the American College of Rheumatology, more than 1.3 million people in the United States suffer from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and about three-quarters of RA patients are women.
Unlike osteoarthritis, RA is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects more than just the joints. In some cases, it can damage a wide variety of vital areas, including your skin, eyes, lungs, heart, and blood vessels. That’s because rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that occurs when your immune system attacks your own body’s otherwise healthy tissues – and this isn’t just limited to joints.
Although new types of medication have helped improve treatment for the condition, severe rheumatoid arthritis can still lead to physical disabilities. That’s why it is important to know the signs and symptoms of RA when it first develops and seek treatment sooner rather than later.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms
The primary symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include:
- Pain or aching in more than one joint.
- Stiffness in more than one joint
- Tenderness and swelling in more than one joint.
- The same symptoms on both sides of your body (e.g., in both hands or both knees)
- Weight loss
- Fever
- Fatigue or tiredness
- Weakness
The onset of RA tends to occur in smaller joints first – particularly the joints in your fingers and hands or your toes and feet. From there, the disease may progress, spreading to your wrists, ankles, elbows, knees, hips, and shoulders.
About four out of five people who have rheumatoid arthritis also experience symptoms that do not involve the joints, but rather other areas of the body, such as their skin, lungs, heart, kidneys, salivary glands, nerve tissue, bone marrow, and/or blood vessels. These symptoms may vary in severity and can come and go in periods of increased activity, called flareups, which alternate with periods of remission, when the pain and swelling fade or completely disappear for a while.
Over time, RA can cause your joints to deform and shift out of position. So, if you experience persistent discomfort and swelling in your joints, don’t wait to make an appointment with a rheumatologist.
Rheumatology Clinic in Syracuse, New York
At the Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Division of the Department of Medicine at SUNY: Upstate Medical University, our board-certified providers see patients with joint diseases that occur with systemic inflammation. They diagnose and treat systemic autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases that, in addition to rheumatoid arthritis, include:
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Antiphospholipid syndrome
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Scleroderma
- Polymyalgia rheumatica
- Vasculitis
The rheumatologists at SUNY: Upstate Medical University also care for patients with a variety of disorders, including arthritis, gout, tendonitis, and joint and connective tissue disorders. We provide state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic joint injections and infusion services, and our faculty is actively involved in teaching and research in the subspecialty of rheumatology and immunology.
To schedule an appointment, please call a rheumatology provider directly. You can also contact the Department of Medicine at SUNY: Upstate Medical University at DeptMedicine@upstate.edu for more information.
