Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Living with rheumatoid arthritis often means making changes to your lifestyle. You can do things at home, such as staying active and taking medicines, to help relieve your symptoms and prevent the disease from getting worse. For help managing your disease, see:

Arthritis: Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis.

You can also plan for those times when the disease symptoms may be more severe. It is important to work closely with your health professionals, who may include a physical therapist or counselor, to find ways to reduce pain.

Rest when you're tired

The disease itself causes fatigue. And the strain of dealing with pain and limited activities also can make you tired. The amount of rest you need depends on how bad your symptoms are.

• With severe symptoms, you may need long periods of rest. You might need to rest a joint by lying down for 15 minutes several times a day to relax. Try to find a balance between daily activities that you must do or want to do and the amount of rest you need to do those activities.
• Plan your day carefully, including rest periods. Pace your activities so that you don't get overtired.

Protect your joints

You may need to change the way you do certain activities so that you are not overusing your joints. Try to find different ways to relieve your joint pain.

• Joint pain and stiffness may improve with heat therapy, such as:
  • Taking warm showers or baths after long periods of sitting or sleeping.
  • Soaking hand joints in warm wax baths.
  • Sleeping under a warm electric blanket.
• Use assistive devices to reduce strain on your joints, such as special kitchen tools or doorknobs.
• Use splints, canes, or walkers to reduce pain and improve function.

Stay active

Keep moving to maintain muscle strength, flexibility, and overall health.

• Physical therapy may be recommended by your doctor.
• Exercise for arthritis takes three forms—stretching, strengthening, and conditioning. Both weight-bearing exercise and strength training improve or maintain the quality of life for people with rheumatoid arthritis.^{4, 5} Your specific joint problem may guide the type of activity that will help the most. For example:
  • Swimming is a good activity if you have joint problems in your knees, ankles, or feet.
  • Bicycling and walking are good activities if your joint problems are not in your legs or feet. Learn more about walking as aerobic exercise.

Eat a balanced diet

Try to eat a healthy, balanced diet. It should be low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and salt and high in fiber and complex carbohydrate (whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables). According to some studies, fish oil may improve your symptoms.⁶

• Be sure to get enough calcium and vitamin D to protect your bones against osteoporosis. For more information, see the topic Osteoporosis.
• Lose weight, if you are overweight. For more information, see the topic Weight Management.
• People who have rheumatoid arthritis also have an increased risk of heart disease. But healthy lifestyle changes, such as exercise and a healthy diet, may reduce your risk.⁷ For more information, see the topics Healthy Eating and Fitness.