Coping With Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain

Being in pain can be the hardest part of living with rheumatoid arthritis. While medicines help, they don't always make the pain go away completely.

Coping with your pain means acknowledging that the problem is not just the pain itself. Constant pain has an effect on your whole life.

Most people with rheumatoid arthritis are faced with frequent or ongoing pain. While you may not be able to avoid pain, you can take control of the situation. Is the pain of rheumatoid arthritis starting to affect your life? There are specific positive steps you can take to live with it — but keep it in its place:

Get Educated About Arthritis Pain

Understanding your pain will better help you deal with it. There are a number of types of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
Acute pain from inflammation. Anyone with rheumatoid arthritis knows the pain that comes with a flare.
Pain from joint damage. Joints may become damaged over time by rheumatoid arthritis and cause pain even though your arthritis itself is inactive.
Exacerbation of pain. After living a long time with pain and the other struggles of rheumatoid arthritis, you can get stressed and worn out. The real pain you feel is made worse by your emotional state.

Most people with rheumatoid arthritis will experience all of these types of pain. This can become a complicated and overwhelming situation and requires an overall approach.

Read the full article at webmd.com