8 Ways to Prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis Joint Damage

The first step toward protecting your joints: Get treated. The Arthritis Foundation emphasizes the value of treating RA soon after it first develops. An early RA diagnosis and aggressive treatment to reduce inflammation as quickly as possible can help prevent joint damage over the long run.

The goals of a treatment plan for RA are to maintain functionality and mobility and enable you to have a good quality of life. Stick to the medications your doctor recommends — there are a lot of powerful ones coming through the development pipeline, notes Dr. Goodman — and you may be able to decrease inflammation and prevent permanent joint damage.

See your doctor regularly to make sure your overall health is monitored as well. Be sure to communicate any changes in your symptoms and joint function.

When it comes to protecting your joints, smoking is a major strike against you. Smoking is one of the most significant triggers for active RA — it increases disease activity, which in turn can affect how your disease progresses, making joint damage more likely to occur, explains Goodman. One study found that smoking is associated with higher disease activity in RA, including more swollen joints.

Smoking can also reduce the effectiveness of some medications used to treat RA, which can affect your ability to achieve disease remission, Goodman adds.

So if you smoke, it may be time to quit. Your care team can point you to resources or you can call your state’s quit line for free.

While there’s no proven anti-inflammatory diet for RA, the Arthritis Foundation reports that certain foods found in the Mediterranean Diet may help keep inflammation under control.

Omega-3 fatty acids (think cold-water fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring) are a great place to start. A study found that omega-3 fatty acids can modulate the inflammatory response and may decrease disease activity in RA.

Other anti-inflammatory foods include nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains; those with healthy fats like avocados and olive oil; and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Regular exercise is important for everyone, but it’s particularly important for people with RA, says Goodman. Staying active can help you maintain a healthy weight, preserve range of motion and mobility, and increase muscle strength. In general, says Goodman, “you can really get a lot better functional capacity if you strengthen your muscles.”

Include weight-bearing, range-of-motion, and strengthening exercises, which can improve joint function and help keep your bones dense and strong. “Lifting light weights also can help prevent osteoporosis, which can often develop and complicate RA,” says Goodman.

Also important: moderate-intensity cardio activities, such as walking and dancing. Swimming and water aerobics are great choices because the water supports your body weight and lessens the stress on your joints. “What I ask patients to avoid is high-impact sports,” says Goodman. “They can run, but I don’t want them to train for marathons. I would just not go to extremes; use your common sense,” she says.

“A high BMI [body mass index] makes it more likely you’ll develop RA if you’re genetically susceptible to the condition in the first place — and it also makes it more likely you’ll have more severe disease,” says Goodman.

Maintaining a healthy weight is also essential for preventing joint damage from RA. Weight loss can help limit stress on weight-bearing joints, such as the knees and hips. A study found that people with RA who were overweight or obese and lost more than 11 pounds had three times the odds of improved RA disease activity compared to those who didn’t lose weight.

Try a combination of exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet to keep your weight in check. Ask for input from a nutritionist if what you’re doing doesn’t seem to be working.

Stress can have a negative impact on your immune system, which can in turn increase RA activity and lead to more joint pain and swelling. What’s more, living with the pain and frustration of RA can take a toll on your emotional health. A study found that in people with RA, chronic inflammation can impair their mental and physical responses to stress, including effective coping behaviors. This in turn can result in depression, which can lead to poorer long-term outcomes in RA.

To help reduce stress, practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and meditation. Exercise can also help combat stress and may even help you feel more positive and boost your mood.

Like Mom always said: Sit up straight. Why? Good posture helps decrease strain and stress on your joints, ligaments, and tendons.

Where possible, you should also try to use proper body mechanics. Spare your small joints by using larger ones — like the palm of your hand instead of your fingers to press buttons, and a hip instead of your hands to close a door. You may also consider using splints for your hands and wrists, and orthotics in your shoes.

There’s no need to strain your joints and risk damaging them. From key-turners and jar openers to raised toilet seats and grab bars in your bathroom to a walker or cane to help you stay mobile and reduce falls, there are many handy devices that can make day-to-day activities easier.

“Assistive devices can help; it really just depends on what the problem is,” says Goodman. “If you have one bad knee and aren’t ready to think about a surgical approach, a cane can be very helpful.”

Work with an occupational therapist to find the devices that can best help you.