Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease of synovial joints, and pain is the predominant problem for people with RA. Pain in RA is distressing in its own right and adversely affects disability and psychosocial outcomes. RA pain may be due to joint inflammation and also augmented by centr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current pain and headache reports 2012-12, Vol.16 (6), p.509-517
Main Authors: Walsh, David A., McWilliams, Daniel F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - complications
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - epidemiology
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - surgery
Arthroplasty, Replacement
Humans
Inflammatory diseases
Internal Medicine
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Orthopedic Procedures
Pain
Pain - drug therapy
Pain - epidemiology
Pain - etiology
Pain - surgery
Pain Aspects of Arthritis (DA Walsh and S Kelly
Pain Management
Pain Medicine
Rheumatoid arthritis
Section Editors
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease of synovial joints, and pain is the predominant problem for people with RA. Pain in RA is distressing in its own right and adversely affects disability and psychosocial outcomes. RA pain may be due to joint inflammation and also augmented by central sensitization and structural joint damage. Noninflammatory pain mechanisms may confound the assessment of disease activity in RA, and treatment should aim to both suppress inflammatory disease and relieve pain symptoms. Effective treatment stratification requires a full assessment of pain mechanisms by clinical history and examination, as well as objective assessment of synovitis and joint damage. Biologic therapies and joint replacement surgery have major impacts on RA pain, but may only be available to those with most severe or advanced disease. Holistic approaches to pain management are indicated, including pharmacologic analgesia where randomized controlled trials (RCTs) offer evidence of efficacy.
ISSN:1531-3433
1534-3081
DOI:10.1007/s11916-012-0303-x