Is it ever too late to treat rheumatoid arthritis?
It’s never too late to be treated for pain, stiffness and lack of mobility due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), says rheumatologist Paula Rackoff, MD. In this video she outlines what to expect from the treatment options.
Transcript
If someone's waited so long that a particular joint is fused and they can't move it at all,
it's unlikely that any medication will restore movement completely. [MUSIC PLAYING]
For the most part, even treating severe rheumatoid arthritis can be satisfying because we can give people some pain relief.
If someone's waited so long that a particular joint is fused and they can't move it at all, it's
unlikely that any medication will restore movement completely.
In that setting, even with severe rheumatoid arthritis, we can relieve patients of a certain amount of stiffness,
pain, and increase some mobility. It's never too late to provide patients
with an overall better sense of feeling with less stiffness, less fatigue. But if a particular joint or joint
has gone so far to have end-stage destruction, there isn't a medication that's going to reverse that.
And then, of course, there are surgical options. [AUDIO LOGO]
rheumatoid arthritis
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