Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic inflammatory condition which can affect any joint in the body. It is an autoimmune disease meaning that the body’s own immune system attacks the joints.
There are a number of medical treatments for rheumatoid arthritis including steroids and other immunosuppressing drugs. There have been a number of advances in the medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in the last decade. This drug treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is usually supervised by a rheumatologist.
Rheumatoid arthritis can be very destructive to the joint surfaces and can cause irreversible damage. Once this has occurred the only treatment that will be effective is total hip replacement.
