Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease in which your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in your body, causing inflammation (painful swelling) in the affected areas.
RA primarily affects the joints, often attacking multiple joints at once. The hands, wrists, and knees are the most commonly affected joints by RA. The lining of the joint becomes inflamed in RA joints, causing joint tissue damage. This tissue damage can result in chronic or long-term pain, unsteadiness (lack of balance), and deformity (misshapenness). RA can also affect other tissues and organs, including the lungs, heart, and eyes.