Q: Does chronic wrist tendonitis go along with RA? I have have over four shots in my wrists and it keeps coming back in about 3 to 6 mos.
Hi, Jacki,
I can say from personal experience that chronic wrist tendonitis does go along w/RA. I have tendonitis in my wrists and my elbows and ankles. It doesn't go away, either. I don't get the shots in them. It seems, for me, that controlling my RA is the best thing for helping my tendonitits. My RD calls my tendonitis an "extra-articular manifestation" of my RA. Hope this helps!
Blessings,
V
I have had tendonitis in my shoulder now for a year. When a my RA is well controlled, my tendonitis feels much better; when my RA flares, so does the tendonitis. I have had cortisone and PT - it helps some - but not as much as having the RA under control.
RA doesn't just affect your joints, it can also cause inflammation in tendons (as well as other systems in your body). This means that your best bet to deal with the tendinitis is to get your RA suppressed. Are you on medication for your RA? How active is your disease? It may be a good idea for you to talk to your doctor about treatment options to see if you can get better control of symptoms.
Oh YES it seems to for me too. Wrists and elbows are terrible right now and that tells me that I am not taking good enough care of myself. I do wear elbow pads at night and wrist splints that are bent straight to be in the neutral position and they both help, but I agree with making sure your RA is under control. It seems when you hurt from the RA the other things flare too so I always take this as a sign that I need to do my check list to see that I am doing everything the doctors tell me to do to help. I just had a new PT appt. today with a new clinic and it was FABULOUS! He looked at all of me and not just my shoulder today (bi-cep tendon pain today) and it is amazing how everything is connected. Hang in there and make sure you are getting the best advice and that you are looking at the whole picture! Good luck with the pain, it can be so frustrating!!!
I would say yes. My wrists started hurting about 2 years before I was diagnosed with RA. They continue to be very tender even though technically I am in remission. When I workout I wear wrist bands all the time because it does not take much to push them over the edge to painful.
Hi Jacki I also have RA and with it I have had more problems with ligments and tendons that I have with my actual joints(not to say I haven't had problems with those also, just not as much). I have had surgeries on both my wrists for tendonitis, my thumb for trigger finger, and my right index finger, large joint, for a torn tendon. Now I am having problems with my foot with plantar fasciitis, which is when the tendon which runs from your toes to your heel becomes inflamed due to tears in the tendon. From what I have read all these things go along with having RA, not sure why, but my Rheumatologist never seems surprised when I see her complaining about tendon pain. Unfortunately shots don't always work for me so I usually go with the surgery which have always helped me 100%. So I guess to answer your question it is YES.
I seem to have more tendon problems than joint pain. I am not on any medication right now because I do not have insurance. I have been taking Glutamine twice a day on a empty stomach for wrist and shoulder pain. It has helped more than taking NSAID and it is better for you. Some experts believe that RA is caused by leaky gut and a allergy (maybe food) fungus, or paracite. I don't know if it is true or not but since I am off medication anyway, I thought I would try to heal leaky gut and see if helps.
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