Rheumatoid Arthritis
What causes Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis can be caused by many factors. Genetic susceptibility makes up for 50% of the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Another risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis is smoking, this is especially high in individuals who smoke and are genetically susceptible. Evidence suggests that abnormalities in the immune system can lead to the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Risk factors also include old age, family history and being female.
How can Bites Dietitians help?
Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with an increased risk of other co-morbid conditions due to the progression of the disease as well as side effects from medications used to manage it. Our Dietitians will provide you with a dietary prescription (meal plan) which will primarily aim to prevent and/or manage nutritional deficiencies and symptoms, medication side effects and any comorbidities that are associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Due to the nature of this disease, we understand that some clients may be in too much pain to prepare and cook nutritious meals. Therefore, our Dietitians will provide you with knowledge and education on convenient and healthy options if required.
An interesting fact about diet and rheumatoid arthritis
Research has suggested that consuming foods rich in omega-3 fats can help to reduce inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Foods rich in omega-3 fats include oily fish e.g. sardines and salmon, canola oil and walnuts.
How can Bites Exercise Physiologists help?
Some individuals with rheumatoid arthritis are nervous about exercising due to the belief that it may cause flare ups or potentially damage joints further. However, research has shown that participating in appropriate exercise regularly does not cause joint damage or worsen symptoms and in actual fact it improves your ability to cope with the demands of daily life by strengthening muscles and improving your overall physical conditioning. Bites Exercise Physiologists are able to listen to you and the symptoms you’re experiencing and then use their expert knowledge to provide you with a tailored exercise plan to suit your ability. As time goes on, we might need to adapt these for you across flare up periods to ensure comfortability and make sure we keep you in the most optimum physical condition possible! Both aerobic and strength training principles will be utilised to prevent or even reverse muscle wasting and improve your ability to do the things that matter most in your every-day life.
An interesting fact about exercise and rheumatoid arthritis
False: Exercising will cause flare ups. This is not true, exercise is very beneficial for rheumatoid arthritis. Research has shown that exercise will improve an individual’s cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiovascular health, increased muscle mass, reduced adiposity, improve strength and physical function without aggravating or provoking disease activity or joint damage.
What improvements can you expect from a tailored exercise program?
Most of our clients with Rheumatoid arthritis report that they have more energy, reduced symptoms of pain and flare ups become less frequent within weeks to months of following our plans!
How will you know it’s working/you’re improving?
Depending on your individual goals, our practitioners will take measurements to set initial goals from and track progress. These will depend on what you are personally struggling with or would like to improve eg. you might have a goal to be able to go for a 60 minute walk without stopping (so we might measure your walking tolerance) or to be able to open jars of food with ease (so we might measure your hand grip strength!).
As Rheumatoid arthritis is a very personal journey, you might also be encouraged to record your individual symptoms in a health journal so that you can see measurable differences in symptoms along the course of our treatment. Through following your exercise prescription you will notice you are able to do more with less pain and you will feel stronger. Your exercise load may progress from your first appointment compared to future ones. If your pain has not improved but no new pain occurs that may also be a sign that the diet and exercise prescriptions are well suited to your condition.
Helpful things to bring/remember before your first appointment
- Referral and medical history from your GP or specialist
- Current pain records e.g. notes of flare ups, when do they occur and how bad they are on a scale of 1-10.
- List of medications
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