The Foot in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term (chronic) disease. It can affect any joint and surrounding tissues but is commonly found in wrist and fingers (of both hand and foot). RA usually affects joints on both sides equally and often starts between ages 25 to 55.

There are different theories of Rheumatoid arthritis causes but the exact cause is unknown. It is more likely to found in people of the family history and some develop because of their genes.

Study/Research:

NCBI study shows:

As you know Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful disease and over 85% of patients report this problem where 57% of the patients report foot or ankle symptoms within the first year. A patient faces irritation and changes in bone that leads to forefoot deformities cause hindfoot instability. This hindfoot instability can be dangerous and may lead the forefoot to the present symptoms first. Both forefoot and hindfoot sides lead to altered foot and ankle motion when increased in forefoot planter pressure during locomotor or jumping activities and weight-bearing.

Correcting and stabilizing the planter and ankle help in decreasing the chances of walking disabilities forefoot deformities of patients with Rheumatoid arthritis. Normally, it is a consideration to be accomplished through custom shoe wear or orthotics. However, critical reviews of studies in foot orthotics and shoe wear, in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have shown limited evidence to support their use, leading a Cochrane review to report only a “silver level of evidence” for prescribing custom-made foot orthoses in patients with RA.