AiArthritis logo showing stylized infinite loop symbol in red with black dots, above organization name for International Foundation for Autoimmune & Autoinflammatory Arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

How to pronounce it: Rheumatoid - roo·muh·toyd


AiArthritis defines Rheumatoid Arthritis as:

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory condition that can affect your joints, tissues, and organs. RA is an autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue.



Download Printable Resource
  • Close-up of hands showing Rheumatoid Arthritis in hands and fingers, with red highlights indicating areas of joint pain and swelling in multiple finger joints against a white background

    Button
  • Medical imaging sequence showing Rheumatoid Arthritis early diagnosis process: bone scan of a finger in grayscale, with inflammation hotspots highlighted in red and yellow, demonstrating active chronic inflammatory disorder

    Button
  • X-ray of both hands showing rheumatoid arthritis symptoms with red highlighting indicating joint pain and swelling in wrists and multiple finger joints, demonstrating characteristic RA vs osteoarthritis pattern

    Button

Symptoms & Characteristics

Common in All AiArthritis Diseases

Flares: Periods of worsening symptoms are called flares. A flare can last for hours, days, weeks, or months.


Physical Activity: Condition improves with activity and exercise and worsens with rest.


Comorbidities: When inflammation is left uncontrolled due to lack of proper treatment, comorbidities can develop. 70% of patients with chronic, lifelong disease will develop comorbidities, including dual or triple diagnoses.


Family History: Autoimmune diseases often run in families, indicating a potential genetic predisposition where that gene can cause disease. Autoinflammatory diseases can occur multiple times in a family, but is based off of genetic mutation. It is not a gene that causes the disease— but a mutation on the gene that can cause the disease which can then be passed on to the next generation.

"Auto" Symptoms

Fatigue: Severe fatigue or exhaustion that may not be helped by caffeine/stimulants and can happen even after a long period of rest.


Cognitive Dysfunction: Brain fog  or periods of time where thinking gets clouded and it becomes difficult to concentrate.


Flu-like symptoms: Without having the flu- nausea, muscle weakness, and general malaise.


Fever: Typically low grade in autoimmune (with exception of juvenile idiopathic arthritis) and higher grade in autoinflammatory (% strongly varies per disease).


Reference: Early Symptoms of AiArthritis Study, AiArthritis, 2019.


View Early Symptom Study

Inflammatory Arthritis Symptoms

Stiffness: Severe stiffness in one or more joints, especially in the morning or after sitting for long periods of time. 


Joint Pain: Episodes of joint pain that may last for hours, days, or even weeks, that can appear and disappear suddenly. Often described as “jumping pain” into different locations.


Typically the joint pain will coincide with one or more “Auto” symptoms and start and stop suddenly - for no apparent reason (which is called a "flare"). Some people will experience all of the above symptoms, others only a few.


 If you have any of the arthritis features, and at least one of the “Auto” features, please consult your physician about a referral to a specialist.


Symptoms Often Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis

  • Firm lumps under the skin, often around the elbows or hands
  • Pain and swelling, usually affecting both sides of the body
  • Redness and warmth around the joints
  • Larger joints in the hands (like knuckles) are often affected first, but any joint can be involved

  • Diagnosing Rheumatoid Arthritis

    Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis involves a mix of physical exams, blood tests, imaging (like MRIs), and family history. Doctors will look for:


    • More than one joint being affected
    • Chronic symptoms lasting over 6 weeks
    • Swelling, redness, or warmth in the joints (not always present)
    • Other symptoms that can distinguish RA from osteoarthritis

    Blood tests can show inflammation (ESR and CRP) or a positive Rheumatoid Factor (RF+), but these are not required for a diagnosis. Many people with RA do not have these markers in their blood.


    To help with diagnosis, doctors may use a points system from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR). This system assigns points based on your test results and symptoms to determine if you have rheumatoid arthritis.


  • Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Options

    Treatments are tailored to each individual's disease, but visit our Treatment Options page to learn more about the different types of treatments that are used for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

    Treatment Options

  • What Fellow Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Want You to Know

    • Sometimes you may feel a locking feeling in the joints, like if you grab a hair brush or a cabinet handle - suddenly your fingers may stop moving while the rest of your hand continues in motion. This doesn't feel good.

    • Joints like your jaw can be affected.  Also the vocal chords, called the cricoarytenoid joint (although this is not common)

    • You CAN HAVE RA without positive blood work! You may hear some patients say they have "seronegative RA" or "seropositive RA". This is referring to their blood work. If a patient has "seronegative", it means they were diagnosed with RA and had no positive markers (inflammation, RF +, etc.) in their blood (normal bloodwork). 

    • A lot of patients choose not to use the word "arthritis" because they feel that's the only word others hear and think it's the same as the most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis - caused by aging, wear and tear, overuse. While there has been movements in the past to try and change the name, there are many reasons why this is not likely to happen.

    Submit YOUR Advice

  • Interesting Facts about Rheumatoid Arthritis

    • There used to be a diagnosis of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) decades ago, but after it was realized that juvenile arthritis onset is not exactly the same disease as RA, it was changed to Juvenile Idiopathic (no known cause) Arthritis, or JIA. You may still hear people refer to it as JRA, especially if this was their diagnosis as a child.

    • While some adults originally diagnosed with either JRA or JIA may refer to their current diagnosis as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), it's really a matter of choice. Some adults still say JRA/JIA OR will say JRA/JIA/RA.

    • Evidence of RA-like symptoms has been found in skeletal remains of Native Americans dating back to at least 4500 B.C. This suggests that RA has been affecting humans for thousands of years. However, RA was not widely recognized in Europe until the 19th century.

    • The term “rheumatoid arthritis” was coined in 1859 by British rheumatologist Alfred Baring Garrod. “Rheumatoid” comes from the Greek word “rheuma,” meaning “that which flows,” referring to the characteristic joint swelling.

  • Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Days/Months

    • World Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Arthritis Day - May 20th
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Day - February 2nd
    • Autoimmune Awareness Month - March
    • Arthritis Awareness Week (UK) - May
    • Arthritis Awareness Month (US) - May
    • Arthritis Awareness Month (Canada) - September
    • World Arthritis Day - October 12th
    • Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month - September
    • Pain Awareness Month - September
    • Chronic Disease Awareness Day - July 10th
    • Invisible Disabilities Week - 3rd full week of October

  • Other Rheumatoid Arthritis Resources

    AiArthritis Resources
Share by: