Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting the joints. It affects people differently because for some people it will be mild and for the rest, it may be severe. However, if a person suffering from this condition is not taking proper treatment, it will progress over time. In some people, symptoms like mild pain and swelling can be seen in the early stages but in some others, the symptoms will be exhibited only when the condition become worse. In this article, we will discuss about the progression of rheumatic arthritis and its symptoms in different stages.
Stage 1
In this stage, the patient will feel mild pain and stiffness in their joints. During this stage, inflammation will be formed on the joints and it will result in swelling. If a person is finding this condition in the early stages, it can be healed easily. This is because, in stage 1, the condition will only affect the tissues and joint lining and not the bones.
Stage 2
Rheumatic arthritis reaches stage 2 when the disease affects the cartilage of a person. In the first stage, the condition will affect the joint linings called synovium. In stage two, people will experience severe pain and swelling. During this stage, people might start losing their flexibility and their joints might become stiff.
Stage 3
From this stage, rheumatoid arthritis is considered severe. This is because during this stage the condition will become worse and will affect not only the cartilage but also the bones. It will also lead to the degradation of the cushion between bones. During this stage, people will experience severe pain and stiffness. Since the bone cushions are degrading, people will not be able to move their joints freely and may lead to deformation. It will also lead to erosion of the bones.
Stage 4
It is the final stage of rheumatoid arthritis. During this stage, there will be no inflammation and the joints will stop working completely. This stage is reached when the cartilage and other substances like bone lining and cushion are completely eroded. People will experience severe pain in this stage also. It will also affect the strength of the muscles. In addition to that, due to lack of synovium, the bones will fuse together, destroying the joints.
The above mentioned are the different stages of rheumatic arthritis. It will take so many years for this condition to progress from first to the last stage.
