Which joints are not affected by rheumatoid arthritis?

The shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles are also affected in many patients. The distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints are generally spared. With the exception of the cervical spine, the spine is unaffected.

What joints are usually affected by RA?

RA commonly affects joints in the hands, wrists, and knees. In a joint with RA, the lining of the joint becomes inflamed, causing damage to joint tissue. This tissue damage can cause long-lasting or chronic pain, unsteadiness (lack of balance), and deformity (misshapenness).

Can rheumatoid arthritis affect only certain joints?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect more than just your joints. In some people, the condition can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels.

How does rheumatoid arthritis affect normal movement?

RA may cause deformities in the joints of the finger, making movement difficult. The joints most often affected by RA are in the hands, wrists, feet, ankles, knees, shoulders, and elbows.

Does rheumatoid arthritis affect only one side of the body?

RA affects joints on both sides of the body, such as both hands, both wrists, or both knees. This symmetry helps to set it apart from other types of arthritis. Over time, RA can affect other body parts and systems, from your eyes to your heart, lungs, skin, blood vessels, and more.

Does arthritis move around the body?

Pain in a specific joint may lead you to suspect arthritis or another health condition. When the pain stops and moves to a joint in another part of your body, you may be experiencing migratory arthritis. Migratory arthritis can also cause: redness from visibly swollen joints.

What does rheumatoid arthritis feel like in your hands?

When your hands are affected by rheumatoid arthritis, you may experience swelling around the affected joint, which leads to pain or tenderness. The joint may feel warm to the touch. Swelling tends to be symmetrical, which means it occurs in the same joints on both right and left hands.

Is rheumatoid arthritis symmetrical?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory, symmetrical form of arthritis. Symmetry is the key determinant in diagnosing this autoimmune disease. However, a person may not have symptoms on both sides at the beginning of the disease.

How does rheumatoid arthritis affect the body beyond the joints?

Learn more about how the inflammation associated with RA can impact organs and systems beyond the joints. Arthritis can cause painful, swollen knees or fingers that are impossible to ignore. But other parts of the body, including the skin, eyes and lungs can also be affected.

Is rheumatoid arthritis (RA) life threatening?

RA can result in a variety of neurological complications, some of which can be life-threatening. RA can affect the peripheral nerves that allow sensations such as temperature and pressure. This is more common in the feet and legs than in the hands, but can occur anywhere on the body.

Why does Ra affect small joints in the hands first?

RA tends to affect many joints at once. Often, symptoms first appear in the small joints of the middle fingers and in the bases of the hands and toes. It usually occurs in the same joints on both sides of the body. RA may affect small joints in the hands first because there are many more joints in the hands than in other parts of the body.

Does rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cause SI joint inflammation?

Some sources indicate that RA can be a source of SI joint inflammation. However, others suggest that SI joint involvement actually is one of the factors that differentiates RA from other types of inflammatory arthritis, such as psoriatic arthritis and spondylitis.