Rheumatoid arthritis has a different cause and is much more severe. It is caused by autoimmunity, in which the body's own white blood cells, members of the immune community whose job it is to destroy invading germs, attack joint tissues as though they were the enemy. During an attack, the joint swells and reddens and may be excruciatingly painful. This inflammation does even more to damage the joint than the attack itself. The mainstay therapy for rheumatoid arthritis is therefore to suppress the inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs and to forestall any further attacks by dosing the immune cells with drugs that calm their ferocity.
Inflammation causes joint damage in osteoarthritis, too.
The knobby knuckles and stiff, sore joints of many older people are signs of inflammatory damage from osteoarthritis. I'll describe a few common exercises that your doctor is likely to prescribe. None of these exercises should be done during a flare-up of inflammation, when rest is the right therapy and exercise is too painful anyway. All are easier to do when the muscles are warm, as after a hot shower. Carol Greenberg is a physical therapist with nearly 40 years of experience.