Who hasn’t heard about rheumatoid arthritis? It is an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation of the joints. However, the disease also affects other body parts, including the muscles and tendons, skin, lungs, eyes, blood vessels, heart, stomach, intestines, and liver. This disease affects nearly 1.3 million people in the United States, making it a frequent form of arthritis found in up to 1% of the population.
But leaving statistics and medical data aside, people who experience arthritis in any form usually have a reduced quality of life. Some suffer from crippling pain and other worrying symptoms.
Are you frustrated by the lack of mobility and pain you have due to arthritis? Are you tired of relying on others to care for you, feeling like you have no power over your own life? Our modern medical treatments provide an alternative, and they are effective in reducing the burden of the disease. However, the treatment is not standardized for every patient, and you may need some time until your doctor can find the right combination for you.
That’s why we’re back with a new article about rheumatoid arthritis, and this time we are focusing on the treatment options at hand to deal with this terrible disease. After reading, you will have a broad understanding of arthritis management and can talk to your doctor about different treatment options to see which one applies to you.
The Importance of Early Treatment
While the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, it has been linked to the HLA-DRB genes. This means that the best way to treat RA is by suppressing this part of the immune system, so it can’t react against the joints, thereby preventing joint damage. But this type of treatment will prevent further joint destruction. When the joint is already damaged, the only thing we can do is reduce inflammation and pain. That’s why early treatment is so necessary.
You probably know that early treatment is meant to avoid complications in most diseases. And you should know that early treatment is even more important when it comes to rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of arthritic pain.
Unfortunately, this disease may develop into a chronic condition. It’s a degenerative disease that will get worse as time goes by. Because of that, it’s imperative to start treating RA as soon as possible. In fact, it’s recommended to start treatment within the first four weeks after symptoms appear. If you start treatment too late, you run the risk of not being able to control the disease.