Early Symptoms for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis or (RA) is a chronic disease which damages the various joints of the body. This damage is the direct result of inflammation. And this inflammation, in turn, is caused by an attack of the body’s immune system.

In short, what happens is that the body’s immune system begins to attack the perfectly normal cells in certain places. When the attack on these tissues begins, it causes an abnormal growth in the membranes that line the joints. This process is called ‘synovitis’. As this synovities begins to move to areas outside the joints, it begins to damage the surrounding tissues, ligaments, blood vessels, tendons and nerves.

The result is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Normally, the areas affected by Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) are the smaller joints such as the ones in the hands, feet, wrists, ankles, elbows and, of course, the knees.

This can result in a lot of difficulty in carrying out normal day-to-day activities for the person.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a systematic disease, which means it progresses in a step-by-step method. So, it can eventually lead to damage to the musculoskeletal structures, skin, heart, digestive tract, kidneys, lungs, blood vessels, nervous system, blood and eyes.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

The symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) are very slow in manifesting themselves. However, the first and most noticeable early symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is morning stiffness. The stiffness is in one or more of the joints of the body and is totally noticeable upon waking up in the morning. The movement of the joint becomes restricted. And then, there is some amount of improvement during the day. Soon, the signs of inflammation become visible. There is redness, or a swelling or some tenderness around the area of the affected joints. Soon the joint begins to swell. This swollen joint is quite puffy to touch. Hard bumps begin to appear around the joint. Another symptom which goes along with all these is pain. Most of these symptoms are accompanied by pain in the joint.

Apart from these symptoms, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) also has some general symptoms which may or may not appear in some patients. These are fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, muscle aches and loss of energy. Often when patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) get these general symptoms, they feel that they have flu or some such common illness.

As such there is no cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The only way is to control the progression of the disease. The causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) have also not been clearly established by scientists. The possibilities hint towards genetic or hormonal causes. But there is no surety of this.