Joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes progressive disability in patients. 1 Synovial inflammation activates an immune process that causes articular cartilage degradation leading to joint space narrowing (JSN) and excessive local bone resorption and inadequate bone formation resulting in
Does rheumatoid arthritis affect small joints?
Early rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect your smaller joints first — particularly the joints that attach your fingers to your hands and your toes to your feet. As the disease progresses, symptoms often spread to the wrists, knees, ankles, elbows, hips and shoulders.
What happens when joint space narrowing?
When joint space narrowing occurs, the cartilage no longer keeps the bones a normal distance apart. This can be painful as the bones rub or put too much pressure on each other. Joint space narrowing can also be a result of conditions such as osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
