Don't let your inner macho man keep you from seeing your doctor about joint pain. Treating your condition early can prevent a disability in the future.
Rheumatoid arthritis may strike women more often, but men develop it as well.
The sooner you seek treatment, the better. Don’t ignore symptoms like stiffness and joint pain.
Today’s treatments can put this disease into remission and prevent future disabilities.
The first time Glenn Helverson’s joints began to ache, he was in his early twenties. But since he was working as a firefighter and going through a divorce at the time, he chalked up the pain to stress.
When the pain never subsided, Helverson suspected he had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) — a hunch that was soon backed up with an official diagnosis.
“I still have good days and bad days,” says Helverson, now 45. He’s responded well to the biologic that his rheumatologist prescribed for him, and although he still has some flare-ups, he’s doing well.
Many men just don’t want to believe they have a chronic condition like RA, he says. There’s the “macho factor.” But “people look at me and see a completely healthy individual,” he says.
About 1.5 million people currently have RA. And although RA is primarily thought of as a “women’s” disease — they’re three times as likely to develop the condition — it also affects men, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
No one knows why more women than men are diagnosed with RA, says Eric M. Ruderman, MD, a professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Women often report having symptoms earlier, too. That could be because they develop RA sooner than men, or because they’re quicker to seek treatment, says Dr. Ruderman. (He also points out that women are often more likely to flag any symptoms, including those of arthritis.)
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Another factor: More men tend to smoke than women — and that puts them at an increased risk for RA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one in five men smoke compared to about one in six women.
RA can be diagnosed at any time, but it typically strikes people who are between ages 34 and 60. In some families, more than one relative has RA. (Helverson’s mother also has the condition.) That suggests that there’s a genetic link, though it may also be hormonal, says Ruderman.
Men with RA don’t often ask for professional help until the disease has been progressing for some time, either because they try to “tough it out” or don’t realize they have the condition in the first place. Guys who perform heavy labor tend to blame their jobs for joint pain, swelling, and stiffness, says Rohit Aggarwal, MD, a rheumatologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania.
“They don’t [think] they may have a real disease and tend to delay seeking help,” he says.
And that’s a shame, he continues, because it’s better to begin treatment right away. Although nothing can cure RA, it’s possible to slow (if not always prevent) permanent joint damage and further disabilities.
Remember: RA doesn’t appear suddenly. It can take time for your symptoms to develop, and when they do they can resemble other forms of arthritis. Either way, if your symptoms don’t go away after a few weeks or they seem to be getting worse, it’s time to see your doctor. Other signs of a worsening condition include redness, stiffness, extra swelling in your joints, pain in other joints, and increasing limits to what your joints can physically handle.
It may seem “manly” to bear the pain, Dr. Aggarwal says, but it could also make your condition more difficult later on.
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