Rheumatoid arthritis is often linked with debilitating chronic fatigue. Experts have some ideas about how these two conditions are connected.

References

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• 2.Madsen SG, Danneskiold-Samsøe B, Stockmarr A, Bartels EM. Correlations between fatigue and disease duration, disease activity, and pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review. Scand J Rheumatol. 2016 Jul;45(4):255-61. doi: 10.3109/03009742.2015.1095943
• 3.Reading SR, Crowson CS, Rodeheffer RJ, Fitz-Gibbon PD, Maradit-Kremers H, Gabriel SE. Do rheumatoid arthritis patients have a higher risk for sleep apnea?. J Rheumatol. 2009;36(9):1869-1872. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.081335
• 4.Shen TC, Hang LW, Liang SJ, et al. Risk of obstructive sleep apnoea in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study. BMJ Open. 2016;6(11):e013151. Published 2016 Nov 28. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013151
• 5.Wali S, Mustafa M, Manzar D, et al. Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(2):259-265. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.8178
• 6.Senra H, McPherson S. Depression in disabling medical conditions - current perspectives. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2021 Apr 6:1-14. doi: 10.1080/09540261.2021.1887823
• 7.Lopes FHA, Freitas MVC, de Bruin VMS, de Bruin PFC. Depressive symptoms are associated with impaired sleep, fatigue, and disease activity in women with rheumatoid arthritis. Adv Rheumatol. 2021 Mar 16;61(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s42358-021-00176-6
• 8.Agrawal S, Misra R, Aggarwal A. Anemia in rheumatoid arthritis: high prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia in Indian patients. Rheumatol Int. 2006 Oct;26(12):1091-5. doi: 10.1007/s00296-006-0133-4
• 9.Singh H, Arya S, Talapatra P, Lather K, Mathur R, Singhania A, Chaudhary V. Assessment of fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis (by Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue score) and its relation to disease activity and anemia. J Clin Rheumatol. 2014 Mar;20(2):87-90. doi: 10.1097/RHU.0000000000000073
• 10.Escobar ME, Gerhardt C, Roesler E, Kuroda MP, Silva MB, Skare TL. Anemia versus disease activity as cause of fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis. Acta Reumatol Port. 2010 Jan-Mar;35(1):24-8. PMID: 20518145

Natural remedies allow people to relieve their arthritis joint pain and avoid medications. Many of these natural remedies can be used at home and are low-cost or free.

References

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• 2.Busch AJ, Barber KA, Overend TJ, Peloso PM, Schachter CL. Exercise for treating fibromyalgia syndrome. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2007;(4):CD003786 10.1002/14651858.CD003786.pub2
• 3.Hurkmans E, van der Giesen FJ, Vliet Vlieland TP, Schoones J, Van den Ende EC. Dynamic exercise programs (aerobic capacity and/or muscle strength training) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2009;(4):CD006853 10.1002/14651858.CD006853.pub2 PubMed PMID: 19821388.
• 4.Cuesta-Vargas AI, González-Sánchez M, Casuso-Holgado MJ. Effect on health-related quality of life of a multimodal physiotherapy program in patients with chronic musculoskeletal disorders. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2013;11:19. Published 2013 Feb 16. doi:10.1186/1477-7525-11-19
• 5.Hurley M, Dickson K, Hallett R, et al. Exercise interventions and patient beliefs for people with hip, knee or hip and knee osteoarthritis: a mixed methods review. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;4(4):CD010842. Published 2018 Apr 17. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010842.pub2
• 6.Dai Z, Niu J, Zhang Y, Jacques P, Felson DT. Dietary intake of fibre and risk of knee osteoarthritis in two US prospective cohorts. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017;76(8):1411-1419.
• 7.Dai Z, Lu N, Niu J, Felson DT, Zhang Y. Dietary Fiber Intake in Relation to Knee Pain Trajectory. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2017;69(9):1331-1339.
• 8.Round JL, Mazmanian SK. The gut microbiota shapes intestinal immune responses during health and disease. Nat Rev Immunol. 2009;9(5):313-23.
• 9.Maeda Y, Takeda K. Host–microbiota interactions in rheumatoid arthritis. Exp Mol Med. 2019;51(12):150. Published 2019 Dec 11. doi:10.1038/s12276-019-0283-6
• 10.Klingberg E, Magnusson MK, Strid H, et al. A distinct gut microbiota composition in patients with ankylosing spondylitis is associated with increased levels of fecal calprotectin. Arthritis Res Ther. 2019;21(1):248. Published 2019 Nov 27. doi:10.1186/s13075-019-2018-4
• 11.Algafly AA, George KP. The effect of cryotherapy on nerve conduction velocity, pain threshold and pain tolerance. Br J Sports Med. 2007;41(6):365–369. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2006.031237
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• 13.Manheimer E, Cheng K, Linde K, et al. Acupuncture for peripheral joint osteoarthritis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010;(1):CD001977.
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• 19.Nelson NL, Churilla JR. Massage therapy for pain and function in patients with arthritis: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2017;96:665–672

These 7 core exercises strengthen muscles in your abdomen and back. Strengthening core muscles has many benefits, including taking pressure off joints in the spine and hips. Reducing pressure on these joints can reduce hip and back pain caused by arthritis.

Chronic pain is often associated with conditions, such as ankylosing spondylitis, or an injury caused by or related to an arthritis condition. There are a number of frustrating realizations that a person living with chronic pain may confront.

Pain from your hip may travel down the thigh into your knee or leg. This pain can be referred from your muscles or joints or radiate through the nerves. Here are a few potential reasons why this type of pain can occur.

References

• 1.Wilson JJ, Furukawa M. Evaluation of the patient with hip pain. Am Fam Physician. 2014;89(1):27-34.
• 2.Lam S, Amies V. Hip arthritis presenting as knee pain. BMJ Case Rep. 2015;2015:bcr2014208625. Published 2015 Feb 19. doi:10.1136/bcr-2014-208625
• 3.Lespasio MJ, Sultan AA, Piuzzi NS, et al. Hip Osteoarthritis: A Primer. Perm J. 2018;22:17–084. Published 2018 Jan 3. doi:10.7812/TPP/17-084
• 4.Pun S, Kumar D, Lane NE. Femoroacetabular impingement. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015;67(1):17–27. doi:10.1002/art.38887
• 5.Di Carlo M, Draghessi A, Carotti M, Salaffi F. An Unusual Association: Iliopsoas Bursitis Related to Calcium Pyrophosphate Crystal Arthritis. Case Rep Rheumatol. 2015;2015:935835. doi:10.1155/2015/935835
• 6.Luca Di Sante, Marco Paoloni, Stefano De Benedittis, Lucrezia Tognolo, Valter Santilli. Groin pain and iliopsoas bursitis: Always a cause-effect relationship? BMR. 2014;27(1):103-106. doi:10.3233/BMR-130412
• 7.Nurkovic J, Jovasevic L, Konicanin A, et al. Treatment of trochanteric bursitis: our experience. J Phys Ther Sci. 2016;28(7):2078–2081. doi:10.1589/jpts.28.2078

Try one of these 5 pain-relieving strategies to help comfort sore joints and stay active with arthritis.

References

• 1.Sarris, J. & Wardle, J. Musculoskeletal system. In: Sarris, J. & Wardle, J. Clinical naturopathy : In Practice. Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier; 2017.
• 2.Kuptniratsaikul V, Dajpratham P, Taechaarpornkul W, et al. Efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts compared with ibuprofen in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a multicenter study. Clin Interv Aging. 2014;9:451-8. Published 2014 Mar 20. doi:10.2147/CIA.S58535
• 3.Calder PC. Omega-3 fatty acids and inflammatory processes: from molecules to man. Biochem Soc Trans. 2017;45(5):1105-1115.
• 4.Kostoglou-Athanassiou I, Athanassiou P, Lyraki A, Raftakis I, Antoniadis C. Vitamin D and rheumatoid arthritis. Ther Adv Endocrinol Metab. 2012;3(6):181-7.
• 5.Metsios GS, Stavropoulos-Kalinoglou A, Kitas GD. The role of exercise in the management of rheumatoid arthritis. Expert Review of Clinical Immunology. 2015;11(10):1121-1130. doi:10.1586/1744666x.2015.1067606.
• 6.Kelley GA, Kelley KS. Exercise reduces depressive symptoms in adults with arthritis: Evidential value. World J Rheumatol. 2016;6(2):23-29.

Bikram yoga (also called hot yoga) can help to ease your chronic arthritis symptoms and increase your flexibility.

References

• 1.Hunter SD, Laosiripisan J, Elmenshawy A, Tanaka H. Effects of yoga interventions practised in heated and thermoneutral conditions on endothelium-dependent vasodilatation: The Bikram yoga heart study. Exp Physiol. 2018
• 2.Hunter SD, Dhindsa MS, Cunningham E, et al. Impact of Hot Yoga on Arterial Stiffness and Quality of Life in Normal and Overweight/Obese Adults. J Phys Act Health. 2016;13(12):1360-1363.
• 3.Renjith AS, Marwaha V, Aggarwal N, Koshy V, Singal VK, Kumar KVSH. Prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis. J Family Med Prim Care. 2017;6(3):622-626.
• 4.Castaneda S, Gonzalez-juanatey C, Gonzalez-gay MA. Inflammatory Arthritis and Heart Disease. Curr Pharm Des. 2018.

Heat therapy is one of the most effective strategies for soothing fibromyalgia pain. Try these 4 heat therapy methods to ease your fibromyalgia aches and pains.

Following an anti-inflammatory diet is becoming a popular way to fight inflammation and the joint pain that can result from it. Is eliminating gluten one way to do it?

References

• 1.Rath, L. The Connection Between Gluten and Arthritis. The Arthritis Foundation. http://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/anti-inflammatory/gluten-free-diet.php Accessed August 20, 2015.
• 2.Barton SH, Murray JA. Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2008;37(2):411-28, vii.

These 3 tips can help alleviate your ankylosing spondylitis symptoms so you can get some much needed rest.

References

• 1.Rheumatology (2009) 48 (4): 433-435.doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kep021First published online: February 17, 2009.