What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

What Are The Symptoms?

What Are The Causes?

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Diet and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Exercise And Pain Management

Women are three to four times more likely than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which affects roughly 2.5 million Americans.

RA is considered an autoimmune disease — such diseases are characterized by the immune system attacking the body’s healthy tissues. In RA, white blood cells travel to the synovium (the membranes that surround joints) and cause inflammation, or synovitis. The ensuing warmth, redness, swelling and pain are typical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, which usually affects the wrist joints and the finger joints closest to the hand.

Although no one knows the precise causes of rheumatoid arthritis, it seems to develop as a result of an interaction of several factors, including genetics, environmental factors and hormones. A virus or bacterium could serve as the environmental trigger in persons genetically susceptible to the disease

This material is not intended as a guide to self-medication. The reader is advised to discuss the information provided here with a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, or other authorized healthcare practitioner and to check product information (including package inserts) regarding dosage, precautions, warnings, interactions, and contraindications before administering any drug, herb, or supplement discussed herein.