Rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive autoimmune condition that can damage joints over time. Treatment helps, but there are simple techniques you can use in everyday life to take pressure off joints and help prevent long-term damage.
“People don’t have to be struggling,” says April Davis, an occupational therapist at NYU Langone’s Center for Musculoskeletal Care in New York City. “It’s just a matter of changing how they do things.”

Read more: 10 Ways to Protect Your Joints From Damage

Until very recently, it was fairly unthinkable that our own bodies pose a greater threat to health than any outside disease. Most people have never heard of one of the greatest plagues of the 21st century, because it is caused by one of the most subtle, complex reactions in the body. This plague is inflammation, which in medical terms is the ultimate two-edged sword.

Read more: An Epidemic You Need to Know About

Scientists have succeeded in producing cartilage formed from embryonic stem cells that could in future be used to treat the painful joint condition osteoarthritis.

In research funded by Arthritis Research UK, Professor Sue Kimber and her team in the Faculty of Life Sciences at The University of Manchester has developed a protocol under strict laboratory conditions to grow and transform embryonic stem cells into cartilage cells (also known as chondrocytes).

Read more: Osteoarthritis Relief from Cartilage Created by Stem Cells

Years of research have demonstrated the strong relationship between physical and emotional health, which runs in both directions: Just as the worsening of physical symptoms can diminish your emotional well-being, improving your emotional state can minimize physical symptoms. The experience of having a painful or physically limiting health condition is no exception to this phenomenon. People with chronic, painful conditions report declines in social, recreational, and household activities, and they are at a greater risk for depression. Sometimes the emotional toll of a painful or disabling condition is a greater threat to a person’s well-being than the condition itself.

Read more: Caring For Yourself Emotionally When You Have a Chronic Condition