Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease often attacking juveniles and young adults. Rheumatoid arthritis pain is caused by inflammation resulting from one's own immune system attacking joint cartilage. People who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis may have a sudden inception; in one case, a young professional dancer collapsed at an amusement park with her friends, with no previous warning signs. Once it begins, this arthritis can progress rapidly and aggressively if not managed and treated. The best rheumatoid arthritis treatment quickly addresses the overactive immune system, as well as treating the symptoms of inflammation.

Most doctors treating rheumatoid arthritis start with drugs and medications that reduce inflammation: NSAIDs like aspirin and steroid injections; this may be referred to as first-line drug treatment. Later, when the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is definite, your doctor may start second-line drug treatments, which attack the disease cause. Treatment needs to start as early as possible in the course of the disease to prevent as much long-term damage as possible. In some patients, especially when treatment did not start early enough, surgery to repair or even replace certain joints may be necessary.

Later in the course of your rheumatoid arthritis treatment, physical therapy may prove to be of some help. Your physical therapy will focus on overall fitness and keeping good muscle tone in the limbs around the affected joint; strong muscles supporting a joint reduce the stress on the joint itself. Good overall physical fitness is the best overall treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Another potential rheumatoid arthritis treatment is stress reduction. Because the immune system and your mental and physical stress levels are intimately related, you can treat your own arthritis by meditation, getting enough sleep, keeping the rest of your body healthy, and seeking out ways to minimize your mental stress levels through lifestyle changes.

One alternative rheumatoid arthritis treatment is through diet. The most important part of this is simply keeping your weight down. Rheumatoid arthritis cannot be cured, and any extra weight can cause your disease to worsen dramatically and quickly. Eating a sensible diet that keeps the rest of your body healthy is your first step. Fish oil supplements have been shown in a laboratory to help with inflammation reduction, but this has not been verified in human studies. Glucosamine also may help, but is unproven as a treatment.

It's a good idea to seek out your own information on rheumatoid arthritis treatments. Approaches to management and treatment of this disease is changing dramatically every day, and your doctor is unlikely to always have the most current research about how to treat it on hand.

There is no proven cure for rheumatoid arthritis; treatment may result in a remission of the disease, but because it is an immune system disorder, it may recur at any time. Don't believe anyone who tells you there is a natural cure. Though proper diet and exercise have been shown to help, no herbal remedies have been shown to be better than aspirin or corticosteroids in treating or managing rheumatoid arthritis.