Patient/caregiver was educated on the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as follows:
Pain and tenderness
- Rheumatoid arthritis is an arthritis due to production of autoantibodies. The autoantibodies produced attack and damage the lining of many big and small joints, which eventually lead to erosion & damage to the bone and inflammation, resulting in rheumatoid arthritis.
- White blood cells, which are protective and fight against any infecting organisms, increasingly migrate to the affected joint as part of inflammatory response. Chemicals released from these white blood cells cause signs and symptoms of arthritis and lead to further damage to the bone and the joint.
- This results in exacerbated pain and tenderness in the involved joints. Pain with rheumatoid arthritis, in the initial stages, tend to involve many joints at the same time, be high early in the day, and progressively reduce with increased usage of the involved joints.
- Activation of multiple episodes of rheumatoid arthritis over a period of time result in permanent bone deformity and chronic pain of all involved joints.
Limited range of motion
- The pain and swelling can lead to limitation in the range of motion of the involved joints.
