Introduction
Living with rheumatoid arthritis can mean living with chronic pain, fatigue, and joint stiffness. Thousands of people have benefited from developing and following plans to help them manage their symptoms. You and your health professional can develop a medical treatment plan that may include medication and other therapies. Early medical treatment can help you avoid disabling joint changes and chronic pain.
Besides following your medical treatment plan, there are several steps you can take to maintain your normal life and activities. This is often called self-management. The first steps include:
- Learning as much as you can about rheumatoid arthritis.
- Learning ways to reduce joint pain, fatigue, and stiffness.
- Taking an active role in managing your rheumatoid arthritis.
What does it mean to take an active role in the management of rheumatoid arthritis?
Why is it important to take an active role in developing a management plan for rheumatoid arthritis?
How do I manage my rheumatoid arthritis?
Where to go from here
Return to topic:
What does it mean to take an active role in the management of rheumatoid arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is going to be big part of your life, perhaps for years—perhaps for the rest of your life. If you become involved in the day-to-day management of your health, you stand a better chance of maintaining the activities that fill your life. If you take on this job the same way you would take on a new career position, knowing it will require daily learning and practicing and that there will be setbacks as well as successes, you are on your way to managing your rheumatoid arthritis.
- Knowing what you will physically be able to do tomorrow, next year, and beyond, starts with learning what rheumatoid arthritis is and what is happening inside your body.
- The next step is learning what you can do and what your limits are.
- The third step is forming and following a self-management plan for your life.
Test Your Knowledge
- An important step in my management plan for rheumatoid arthritis is learning as much as possible about the disease and what it does.
- True
- False
Why is it important to take an active role in developing a management plan for rheumatoid arthritis?
Early medication-based treatment for rheumatoid arthritis may limit joint damage and help you to avoid permanent disability. However, even with that successful outcome, the disease may be active for years. During that time, and in the periods of time when the disease is not active (in remission), you will want to continue with the activities that make life complete. An effective treatment plan should include both exercise and creative ways to get projects done as an important part of your daily routine.
Test Your Knowledge
- Having rheumatoid arthritis means that I have to stop doing aerobics, cleaning house, or other active routines.
- True
- False
How do I manage my rheumatoid arthritis?
Understand your arthritis:
- Learn about your body and what is happening to it with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Learn about your health professionals, the recommended medications, and what they can do for you.
- Find out what can improve your health, such as losing weight or starting a flexibility exercise program.
Learn how to cope with chronic pain, fatigue, and stiffness:
- Experiment and learn what can help you feel better and what makes things worse. Some people can write without pain while others can't, and the same goes for walking, aerobics, etc.
- Learn basic skills, such as ways to use your body that protect stiff areas, that will help you continue activities.
- Explore the use of splints, canes, and other assistive devices that can help you avoid discomfort while staying active.
Take an active role in managing your arthritis:
- Gather information about rheumatoid arthritis and the steps you can take to stay active.
- Work with your team of health professionals, friends, and family to set up a self-management plan.
- Set goals to practice your coping and strengthening skills and incorporate these goals into your life.
- Follow through with your self-management plan on a day-to-day basis.
Test Your Knowledge
- Various routines, assistive devices, and flexibility exercises have been developed to help people with rheumatoid arthritis cope with pain and stiffness.
- True
- False
Where to go from here
To learn more about how to set up a self-management plan for rheumatoid arthritis, contact your health professional.
For more information on arthritis self-management plans, the following resources are available:
Organizations
| Arthritis Foundation | |
| 1330 West Peachtree Street | |
| Suite 100 | |
| Atlanta, GA 30309 | |
| Phone: | 1-800-283-7800 |
| Web Address: | www.arthritis.org |
The Arthritis Foundation provides grants to help find a cure, prevention methods, and better treatment options for arthritis. It also provides a large number of community-based services nationwide to make living with arthritis easier, including self-help courses; water- and land-based exercise classes; support groups; home study groups; instructional videotapes; public forums; free educational brochures and booklets; the national, bimonthly consumer magazine Arthritis Today; and continuing education courses and publications for health professionals. | |
| National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institutes of Health | |
| 1 AMS Circle | |
| Bethesda, MD 20892-3675 | |
| Phone: | 1-877-22-NIAMS (1-877-226-4267) toll-free (301) 495-4484 |
| Fax: | (301) 718-6366 |
| TDD: | (301) 565-2966 |
| E-mail: | niamsinfo@mail.nih.gov |
| Web Address: | www.niams.nih.gov |
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is a governmental institute that serves the public and health professionals by providing information, locating other information sources, and participating in a national federal database of health information. NIAMS supports research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases and supports the training of scientists to carry out this research. The NIAMS Web site provides health information referrals to the NIAMS Clearinghouse, which has information packages about diseases. | |
Credits
| Author | Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman, MATC |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Stanford M. Shoor, MD - Rheumatology |
| Last Updated | August 18, 2008 |
| Author: | Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH | Last Updated: August 18, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine Stanford M. Shoor, MD - Rheumatology | |
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