Rheumatoid arthritis is a kind of arthritis and it is also related with the pain and inflammation of joints. It is a chronic joint disease which usually damages the joints of the body. Usually the inflammation of the joint lining tissue is responsible for the damage of joints. In the condition of rheumatoid arthritis inflammation is responsible and it is misdirected to attack the joints. It is often referred to as RA.

Some of the important facts of rheumatoid arthritis -

1. Inflammation in the joints results into pain, stiffness and swelling in addition to other symptoms.

2. Due to inflammation, the other organs and systems of the body also get affected.

3. Inflammation must be stopped or at least slowed immediately and permanently otherwise it will damage the affected joints and other tissues.

It is different from other types of arthritis. Though rheumatoid arthritis mostly affects the joints but it is said that it is the disease of the entire body. Besides the joints, it can affect many organs of the body. So sometimes it is referred by the name of systematic disease.

The exact cause of the rheumatoid arthritis is unknown. But some of the common factors which contribute towards the condition of rheumatoid arthritis are hormones, genetics (heredity) and possibly infection by a virus or bacterium.

There are different types of symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis but joints arte always affected. Joints of hands, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles and feet are always affected by the problem of rheumatoid arthritis. The rheumatoid arthritis may affect shoulders, hips and jaws which are having the larger joints. Some of the important symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are -

Stiffness: In this condition the joints are not in a position to move. Person suffering from this problem are unable to stretch their arms, legs, or finger properly. They are unable to move their different parts of body in different direction.

Swelling: Affected area becomes swollen and puffy.

Inflammation: Some of the important sign of inflammation are redness, tenderness and warmth.

Pain: In rheumatoid arthritis pain appear from different direction. There may be pain due to inflammation or swelling of the joints and the tissues surrounding. From individual to individual, there is a variation in the pain.

Some of its general symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, malaise and weakness or loss of energy.

Person suffering from rheumatoid arthritis has to take proper care of their diet, medications, exercise, yoga etc which directly affects its improvement.