Treatment
Most symptoms are treatable
Treatments for rheumatoid arthritis can help relieve your pain, reduce swelling, slow or help prevent joint damage, increase your ability to function and improve your sense of well-being.
Exercise and stress reduction
Exercise, medication and, in some cases, surgery are common treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.
Medications
People with rheumatoid arthritis need a good balance between rest and exercise, they should rest more when the disease is active and more exercise when it is not.
Reducing stress is also important. Do relaxation exercises and take part in support groups are two ways to help reduce stress. For more information on exercise classes, you can contact the Arthritis Foundation at 1-800-283-7800.
Most people who have rheumatoid arthritis take medications. Some medications only provide pain relief, others reduce inflammation. Others, called disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or treatments background can often slow the progression of the disease.
DMARD's include methotrexate, leflunomide, sulfasalazine and cyclosporine.
Steroids, which are also called corticosteroids, are another type of drug used to reduce inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Cortisone, hydrocortisone, prednisone, and some commonly used steroids.
New types of drugs called biological response modifiers may also help reduce joint damage. These drugs include etanercept, infliximab, anakinra, golimumab, adalimumab, rituximab and abatacept.
Early treatment with powerful drugs and combinations of drugs - including modifiers and DMARDs biological response - instead of simple medications can help prevent the disease from progressing and significantly reduce joint damage.
People with rheumatoid arthritis need a good balance between rest and exercise, they should rest more when the disease is active and more exercise when it is not.
Reducing stress is also important. Do relaxation exercises and take part in support groups are two ways to help reduce stress. For more information on exercise classes, you can contact the Arthritis Foundation at 1-800-283-7800.
Most people who have rheumatoid arthritis take medications. Some medications only provide pain relief, others reduce inflammation. Others, called disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or treatments background can often slow the progression of the disease.
DMARD's include methotrexate, leflunomide, sulfasalazine and cyclosporine.
Steroids, which are also called corticosteroids, are another type of drug used to reduce inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Cortisone, hydrocortisone, prednisone, and some commonly used steroids.
New types of drugs called biological response modifiers may also help reduce joint damage. These drugs include etanercept, infliximab, anakinra, golimumab, adalimumab, rituximab and abatacept.
Early treatment with powerful drugs and combinations of drugs - including modifiers and DMARDs biological response - instead of simple medications can help prevent the disease from progressing and significantly reduce joint damage.
Surgery
In some cases, a doctor may recommend surgery to restore function or relieve pain in a damaged joint. Surgery can also improve a person's ability to perform daily activities. Joint replacement and reconstruction of the tendon are two types of surgery available for patients with severe joint damage.
In some cases, a doctor may recommend surgery to restore function or relieve pain in a damaged joint. Surgery can also improve a person's ability to perform daily activities. Joint replacement and reconstruction of the tendon are two types of surgery available for patients with severe joint damage.
Diet
Special diets, vitamin supplements and other alternative approaches have been proposed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Although these approaches cannot be harmful, scientific studies have not shown any benefits.
An overall nutritious diet with the right amount of calories, protein and calcium is important. Some people need to pay attention to the consumption of alcoholic beverages because of the medications they take for rheumatoid arthritis.
Scientists are making rapid progress in understanding the complexity of rheumatoid arthritis. They learn more about how and why it develops and why some people have more severe symptoms than others.
Special diets, vitamin supplements and other alternative approaches have been proposed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Although these approaches cannot be harmful, scientific studies have not shown any benefits.
An overall nutritious diet with the right amount of calories, protein and calcium is important. Some people need to pay attention to the consumption of alcoholic beverages because of the medications they take for rheumatoid arthritis.
Scientists are making rapid progress in understanding the complexity of rheumatoid arthritis. They learn more about how and why it develops and why some people have more severe symptoms than others.
search
Research efforts focus on the development of drugs that can reduce inflammation and slow or stop the disease with few side effects.
Research efforts focus on the development of drugs that can reduce inflammation and slow or stop the disease with few side effects.
Identify possible triggers
Some evidence that infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria, may help trigger rheumatoid arthritis in people with an inherited tendency to develop the disease. Investigators trying to identify infectious agents and to understand how they work. This knowledge could lead to new therapies.
Why more women than men?
Researchers are also studying why so many more women than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis. In the hope of finding clues, they study the complex relationships between hormonal, nervous and immune systems in rheumatoid arthritis.
For example, they explore whether and how the normal changes in the levels of steroid hormones like estrogen and testosterone during the life of a person can be related to the development, improvement, or flares of the disease. Scientists are also studying why rheumatoid arthritis often improves during pregnancy.
Interested in clinical trials?
The United States National Institutes of Health, through its National Library of Medicine and other institutions, maintains a database of clinical trials in ClinicalTrials.gov. Click here to see a list of current clinical trials in rheumatoid arthritis. A window will open. Click the "X" in the upper right of the "Clinical Trials window" to return here corner.
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