Rheumatoid arthritis has no known cure. This is an aggressive illness that causes white blood cells to invade the lining of the body's joints, resulting in damage. Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include swelling and moderate to severe pain. This progressive disease typically attacks smaller joints first and continues to larger ones. Successful management is possible with control of symptoms and proper treatment.
Step 1
Obtain prescription medication from a physician who specializes in joint disease. When suggesting a particular medicine, the doctor will consider your pain level, the amount of time you have been symptomatic and your overall health.
Step 2
Take stress off your afflicted joints. For example, if your fingers are in pain, avoid picking up small objects and performing twisting motions (such as turning knobs). Ask your family and friends for help with daily tasks such as laundry and dish washing when you have a period of intense inflammation in your fingers.
Step 3
Exercise in the water in order to take pressure off your knees. Gentle water calisthenics strengthen muscles surrounding your joints. Do jumping jacks, bunny hops and leg sweeps as part of your core water routine. Join a water aerobics class for a guided session.
Step 4
Use tools to help you perform general tasks more easily. For example, an electric, "hands free" can opener makes opening cans much easier. Other aids are long-handled combs and brushes that make it easier to take care of your hair.
Step 5
Treat pain with heat or cold. Experiment with both to find what decreases discomfort for you. Take a hot shower or bath daily if warmth helps you. Alternately, apply ice packs to numb, painful areas.
Step 6
Ask your physician if your size is affecting your condition. Losing weight can reduce the pressure on affected knees, hips, ankles and toe joints. Follow a well balanced, low calorie diet to achieve weight loss.
Step 7
Shift the position of your body often to avoid stiffness in your joints. Stretch, move around and change the way you hold your hands frequently. The Mayo Clinic recommends putting each of your afflicted joints through its range of motion once a day. For example, when concentrating on an elbow, you can bend and straighten your arm and turn your palm up and down.
Step 8
Discuss surgical procedures with your doctor if your condition becomes extremely difficult to bear. Possible surgeries include joint lining removal, total joint replacement and tendon repair. There is also the possible you might need spinal surgery. According to Lawrence G. Lenke, MD, patients suffering nerve problems from rheumatoid arthritis may need surgery to take pressure off the spinal cord and give it more stability.
Tips and Warnings
- Join a support group for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers to share feelings and exchange strategies for successful management of the disease.
