1. One of the hallmarks of rheumatoid arthritis is that it’s an inflammatory form of arthritis.
An autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks your joints, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes inflammation inside and around the joints, which in turn leads to pain, swelling, and stiffness. “The inflammation is what can cause destruction of the joints either because the tissues around the joints swell or because inflammatory chemicals eat into cartilage and bone,” explains Bernard R. Rubin, D.O., division head of rheumatology at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and a clinical professor of medicine at Wayne State University. RELATED: Hot and Cold Therapy Tips To Tame Joint Pain
2. Inflammation plays a role in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis.
“The progression of RA is directly related to the extent of inflammation,” Dr. Rubin says. With RA, the body is fighting against itself and the inflammatory “on” switch is essentially stuck in the “on” position. As a result, inflammation continues unchecked, which perpetuates damage to the joints. “It’s not just the inflammation that’s harmful; the chemicals the inflammation releases are also harmful,” Rubin adds. RELATED: Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Progression and Symptoms: An Overview
3. RA flares typically involve increased inflammation.
In a nutshell, “flares” are episodes of increased disease activity. Because RA is an autoimmune disease, a flare basically means the body is fighting itself more than usual, which causes antibody levels and markers of inflammation to increase. What’s more, “antigens make their way into the joints and when immune cells in the joints become activated, the lining of the joints become inflamed,” explains Ashira Blazer, M.D., a rheumatologist at New York University’s Langone Medical Center in New York City. The result: Red, hot, tender, swollen joints, all of which are signs of a flare. RELATED: Anatomy of a Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare RELATED: What Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis Inflammation?
5. Underlying inflammation may be a common denominator with other medical problems that often accompany RA.
People with RA often suffer from other medical conditions that compromise the quality of their lives and could shorten their lifespans. A study in published in the January 2016 issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy found that in the five years after their diagnosis, 41 percent of patients with early RA developed at least one new coexisting medical condition (aka, a co-morbidity), most commonly hypertension, cancer, stroke, heart attack, or osteoporosis. The researchers concluded that inflammatory activity, both at the onset of RA and what accumulated over time, was a significant factor in the development of a new medical condition over the five-year period. RELATED: 7 Health Conditions That Cause Joint Pain
6. One of the primary goals of RA treatment is to stop the inflammation.
“Most of our therapies are designed to try to decrease inflammation inside the joint and decrease the release of noxious [inflammatory] chemicals,” Rubin notes. A variety of medications — including corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs like methotrexate), and biologic drugs — can decrease the underlying inflammation and pain that comes with RA. RELATED: Your Rheumatoid Arthritis Plan: Strive for Remission, Sidestep Relapse
7. Many topical treatments for RA also target inflammation.
Applying ice to swollen, painful joints alleviates pain by decreasing inflammation. Topical creams and patches that contain NSAIDs or salicylates can also have anti-inflammatory, pain-reducing effects. “One of the reasons they may work is because the drug is absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream and it decreases systemic inflammation,” Rubin explains.
8. Controlling inflammation in RA can have positive ripple effects on your health.
“It may be that controlling inflammation is important not only for treating the arthritis but for protecting people’s long-term health from all these other conditions,” Rubin says. For example, a study in the January 2015 issue of Journal of the American Heart Association found that people with RA who were treated with DMARDs experienced reductions in their CRP levels and significant increases in the ability of their high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol to extract harmful cholesterol from lipidladen cells; this effect may in turn reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
9. Consuming an anti-inflammatory diet can help.
Sticking with a diet that’s loaded with antioxidant-rich foods (think: fruits, vegetables, whole grains) and omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods (like fatty fish, walnuts, chia seeds) may help reduce inflammation and help improve RA symptoms. What’s more, research suggests that drinking green tea, which contains epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG), a potent anti-inflammatory substance, helps reduce the inflammation associated with RA and the increased risk of developing heart disease. Of course, it’s also important to limit your intake of inflammation-promoting foods like red meat and processed, sugary, or fried foods, Dr. Blazer says. RELATED: How to Sleep Better With Rheumatoid Arthritis
10. It’s essential to make sleep and exercise priorities to reduce some of the effects of inflammation.
Granted, it’s hard to work out with pain or sleep when you’re experiencing intense pain. But “not getting enough sleep or sleeping poorly increases the inflammatory response and muscle tension if you have RA,” Blazer says. In fact, a study in the September 2017 issue of the Journal of Caring Sciences found that in people with RA, pain and sleep problems are linked with an increase in inflammatory markers such as CRP. The researchers’ conclusion: Relieving pain and improving sleep can decrease the intensity of RA. Consider this another good reason to talk to your doctor about interventions that could help you improve the quality of your sleep, for the sake of your RA symptoms and your overall health. RELATED: Overcoming Sleep Problems and Rheumatoid Arthritis
