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Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the joint lining, typically affecting the small joints of the hands and feet symmetrically. It is quite distinct from osteoarthritis: the stiffness lasts more than an hour, it comes with systemic symptoms, and medical treatment is the priority. Physiotherapy works alongside your rheumatologist, not instead of them.
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Does this sound like you?
Most people have several of these, not all of them.
- Morning stiffness lasting more than an hour — a key distinction from osteoarthritis
- Symmetrical swelling in the small joints of the hands and feet
- Warm, puffy, tender joints during a flare
- Fatigue and a general feeling of being unwell
- Symptoms that improve with movement and worsen with rest
Why it happens
- An autoimmune process, where the immune system targets the joint lining
- Genetic predisposition
- Smoking, which is a significant modifiable risk factor
- More common in women, often beginning between thirty and sixty
What we would do about it
Roughly in this order — each step waits for the one before it.
- Medical management with your GP and rheumatologist as the priority
- Exercise adapted to disease activity, with flares handled differently
- Joint protection strategies and daily-task modification
- Hydrotherapy, which is often well tolerated during flares
- Maintaining strength and range between flares
- Aids and splints where they preserve function
See a doctor first if
- Your pain followed a significant injury
- It is getting worse rather than settling
- It comes with numbness, weakness or unexplained weight loss
This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Symptoms overlap between conditions, so the right treatment depends on an assessment.
An hour of morning stiffness needs a GP first
Prolonged morning stiffness with swollen, symmetrical joints should be investigated medically. We work alongside that treatment to keep you moving and strong. Ask a question first, or call us on 0403 907 587.
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Other chronic conditions we treat
Related reading: the wear-related form of arthritis, managing long-term pain and arthritis affecting the hand.
General information only, not advice about your own problem — nothing here replaces an assessment. Source: Rheumatoid Arthritis on Physiopedia.
