Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment
Chronic inflammatory joint disease — diagnosis and treatment at Arthritis Care of Texas.
Your immune system — the part of your body that fights germs — attacks your joints by mistake. This causes pain, swelling, and stiffness, often in the hands and feet. Treatment calms the immune system, eases symptoms, and helps protect your joints from damage.
There is no cure for RA yet — the honest goal is control, not cure. Success looks like this: little or no joint pain and swelling, morning stiffness measured in minutes rather than hours, normal energy for your day, and no new joint damage on your X-rays. Many patients reach remission or low disease activity and stay there on steady treatment.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the lining of the joints. Its symptoms include swollen and tender joints accompanied by morning stiffness and sometimes fever, weight loss and fatigue. Rheumatoid arthritis most frequently affects the smallest joints in the body, eventually spreading to the knees, hips and shoulders. The disease appears differently from patient to patient, with some people experiencing chronic, progressive symptoms and others having sporadic "flare-ups" and periods of remission.
Did you know… rheumatoid arthritis affects approximately 1.3 million people in the U.S.? Of those, the majority are women — RA affects more than 2 women for every 1 man. No one is immune from RA: it can affect people as young as 20 to 30 years old, though the average age of rheumatoid arthritis patients is approximately 67.
Could I be at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis?
Although rheumatoid arthritis can strike anyone, certain risk factors — such as age, genetics, tobacco usage and being female — increase the chances of developing the disease.
Can I get rheumatoid arthritis treatment at Arthritis Care of Texas?
Left untreated, rheumatoid arthritis can cause joint erosion, which may become painful and result in deformity. There is no cure for RA, but medications and physical therapy may help reduce joint inflammation, alleviate pain and minimize damage to joints. In severe cases, surgery may be necessary.
What can I do to help prevent or manage RA?
There is little you can do to prevent rheumatoid arthritis. However, some studies have shown that smoking may significantly increase the chances of developing the disease.
Did you know?
- The word “rheumatoid” comes from the Greek rheuma, meaning “flowing” — physicians long ago believed illness flowed through the body like a stream.
- RA is a creature of symmetry: it tends to pick the same joints on both sides of the body — both hands, both wrists, both knees.
- Morning stiffness is RA’s calling card. Doctors use it like a timer: stiffness lasting more than an hour points to inflammation, not simple wear and tear.
Common worries
Why do I need blood tests so often?
Your RA medicines are processed by the liver and kidneys and can affect blood counts — silently. Regular labs catch any change while it is small, and they also track inflammation. The tests are what make long-term treatment safe; feeling well does not replace them.
I feel fine — do I still need my medicine?
Yes. Feeling fine is the treatment working. Joint damage can continue quietly even without pain, which is why stopping usually leads to a flare and lost ground. Changes are made together, at planned reviews.
Will I end up disabled or in a wheelchair?
That outcome has become uncommon. With modern treatment started early and adjusted to target, most patients keep their joints, their jobs, and their independence. The biggest risk factor today is untreated or under-treated inflammation — which is what your appointments and labs are preventing.
Related Methotrexate · Orencia (abatacept) · Plaquenil · All medications · Article: What is an RA flare? · Request an appointment
What counts as a flare: joint pain and swelling clearly worse than your usual, in your typical RA pattern, lasting more than 2–3 days — especially with longer morning stiffness or new fatigue.
What to do: call us at (361) 400-7700. We can often adjust treatment by phone or bring you in quickly. Rest the worst joints, keep taking your regular medicines, and use ice or heat as you find helpful.
Do not adjust steroids on your own: do not double your prednisone or restart an old course without calling — the dose needs to fit the flare and your other medicines.
What isn’t a flare: one achy morning that eases by noon, soreness after unusual activity, or a single joint that settles within a day. Note it, and mention it at your next visit.
Ready to be seen? New patients are seen within 2–4 weeks.