Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that primarily attacks your joints. It can cause significant pain, stiffness, and swelling, often affecting the small joints in the hands and fingers.
Rheumatoid arthritis stands out for its systemic nature and potential for progressive joint damage. By understanding the causes, symptoms, and ways to manage it we’re empowered to not let it rule our lives.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Closer Look
Imagine your immune system, the body's defence network, mistakenly identifying healthy joint tissues as invaders. This misplaced attack triggers inflammation, leading to the all too often experienced symptoms of RA:
- Pain: Aching, throbbing pain in the joints, often worse in the mornings and after periods of inactivity.
- Stiffness: Difficulty moving joints freely, especially upon waking up or after sitting for long periods.
- Swelling: Inflamed joints may appear puffy and swollen, particularly noticeable in the hands and fingers.
- Warmth: Affected joints may feel warm to the touch due to inflammation.
- Fatigue: Many people with RA experience unexplained tiredness and lack of energy.
- Loss of function: Over time, damage from RA can limit your ability to perform daily tasks like grasping objects or buttoning clothes.
Why Does it Happen? The Cause of RA
We know a lot more about Rheumatoid Arthritis and what causes it now than we did a few years ago. Here's some of what we do know:
Lifestyle: Smoking, obesity, stress, and alcohol consumption are significant risk factors for RA. Nutritional deficiencies are also common amongst sufferers.
These deficiencies are not surprising given the depletion of our soils, and the increase in consumption of pre-prepared, heavily processed and industrially grown foods.
Hormonal fluctuations: Women are more susceptible, and RA symptoms may flare during hormonal changes like menopause.
Environmental triggers: Exposure to certain bacteria or viruses might play a role.
Genetic predisposition: Having a close relative with RA indicates increased risk, but developments in the field of epigenetics indicate that this predisposition can largely be negated through different lifestyle choices.
Who Gets Rheumatoid Arthritis?
While anyone can develop RA, certain groups are more at risk. Women are two to three times more likely than men to develop RA, and RA most commonly develops between the ages of 40 and 60.
The Chilling Effect: How Cold Weather Worsens Rheumatoid Arthritis
Winter blues might not be the only reason your RA feels worse. Science suggests a few reasons why cold weather can worsen symptoms.
Cold temperatures may restrict blood flow, and thicken the synovial fluid that lubricates your joints. This makes them stiffer, harder to move, and more painful.
Less sunlight exposure in Winter can lower vitamin D levels, potentially worsening RA symptoms.
Finding Relief: 8 Ways to Manage RA Pain, Discomfort & Progression
Fortunately, there are ways to manage RA pain, discomfort, and progression:
1. Medication:
Medications are currently the mainstay of arthritis treatments. The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or naproxen help manage pain and inflammation, but come with side effects such as GI bleeding, ulcers and kidney problems.
Powerful anti-inflammatory medications like prednisone can provide quick relief for flares, but are typically used short-term due to potential side effects. And steroidal medications may provide short term gains, but over the mid to long term have been found to destroy joints, and impair immune function.
2. Exercise:
Regular exercise like walking, swimming, or yoga strengthens muscles, improves flexibility, and reduces stiffness.3. Heat and cold therapy:
Applying heat with a heating pad or taking a warm bath can ease stiffness, while cold compresses can target inflammation.4. Stress management:
Stress can worsen RA symptoms. Relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing can help.5. Dietary adjustments:
The most recent research indicates that people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis are frequently deficient in a number of essential vitamins and minerals such as boron, cortisol, vitamin D and potassium. As an example, 71% of sufferers have benefitted significantly from increasing their intake of boron.
Simple tips include - adopt the keto diet intermittently, eat more anti-inflammatory whole foods, ditch alcohol and smoking where possible; and increase your intake of ginger, turmeric, thyme, cinnamon, garlic, black pepper, oregano and green tea.
Do you love a good old fashioned bone broth? I hope so because it'll warm the cockles of your heart, and also provide the building blocks you need for joint and cartilage growth and repair. Use real bones slow cooked for 12 hours.
Our best suggestion is to see a holistic health practitioner such as an integrative doctor, or naturopath to assess exactly what you need.
6. Topical creams:
Topical creams such as natural Magnesium Cream With Perma-grown Turmeric, and UltraMag pain prevention and relief cream pack a punch, with no harmful side-effects.7. Physical, occupational and emotional therapy:
Therapists can teach you exercises and techniques to protect your joints and maximise your ability to perform daily tasks; and address any emotional issues that may be contributing to the condition such as feeling constrained, stuck, or unloved.8. Assistive devices:
Restorative devices such as the Flow Orb vibrating and oscillating self-massage ball relieve pain almost instantly, and improve daily function naturally.
It does this by improving circulation, reducing inflammation and stiffness, facilitating lymphatic flow and fascia release, relaxing muscles and reducing stress.
Of those with rheumatoid arthritis in the fingers or hand who tried the Flow Orb, 85% experienced significant relief and improved joint mobility within 5 minutes.
You Are The Captain Of Your Own Health Journey
While navigating the complexities of a chronic illness like RA requires collaboration with a range of healthcare professionals, remember, you are the ultimate captain of your health journey.
Don't relinquish control – do your own research, trust your intuition, and prioritise a holistic approach that nourishes your mind, body, and spirit.
Ultimately, it's your body, and by taking ownership of your well-being, you empower yourself to manage RA effectively; and live life to the fullest.
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