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From what I knew about RA, it seemed unlikely that an injury could trigger it, so I did a bit of research on the issue. I found this page at Johns Hopkins stating that "there is no clear scientific evidence" that accidents, surgeries or other traumatic events can trigger the disease. I did some more digging and found Dr. Andrew Weil's website - he is the founder and Program Director of the Arizona Center for integrative medicine at the University of Arizona. On his website, he mentions that precipitating factors of autoimmune reactions such as RA could be infection - it activates the white blood cells in the immune system and I guess the theory is that something can get wired wrong and in such a case, the immune system can start attacking itself as is the case in autoimmune diseases such as RA. It's further stated that autoimmune reactions could also be triggered by tissue injury or emotional trauma in people with a genetic predisposition to such reactions. Keep in mind that first, a very reputable medical source states that there is no clear scientific evidence that physical injury can trigger RA. Furthermore, that even when trigger factors are mentioned, it is in relation to people who have a genetic predisposition to developing autoimmune reactions. This means that even if this injury was a factor in you getting RA, you very likely have a genetic predisposition and something else - like an infection - might at a later date have triggered the disease, as well. In other words, it's not your fault and it might have happened anyway.   It is normal to want to find a reason why you get a chronic disease. It's normal to ask "why?" and "why me?", but in my 40 years of experience of living with this disease, these questions are ultimately a waste of time and only lead to depression. Sh*t happens (pardon the language, but really, it's the only word for it) and the key to living well with this disease is to focus on living and not the disease. That said, before you start focusing on living, you need to get your disease treated to prevent further damage to joints and to decrease your pain levels. These days, the medications for RA can make a significant difference in ways that used to be impossible and it is entirely likely that once your RA is suppressed, you'll be able to live a relatively normal life. If you have financial issues, there are programs available to assist with funding of medication, many of them offered by the pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs - you can find more information on such programs here.   And back to the living part. We have all done things in our lives that we regret deeply and wish we could change. But we can't. There is no way to go back in time to change our lives. You have to move on and in order to do that, you have to process the feelings, grieve the loss of health and forgive yourself, forgive your body so what can feel like a betrayal. I've come to be grateful to my body for getting me through each day even as it fights this disease and the effects (pain, physical limits, etc.), but it's taken a long time to get here. I've done a lot of thinking, a lot of reading (books and audio programs on mindfulness are especially helpful) and I've had counseling. I recommend that you find a counselor to help you adjust to the disease, work through the feelings and get some help to develop coping mechanisms that you can use throughout your life.   Life isn't over. It comes with extras now, extras that can be difficult to deal with both for you and for the people in your life (I wrote a post about the reactions of others in a while ago, you can read it here). But you will get back to your life - with battle scars, you'll be different and best of all, you'll be stronger. Resilience and strength are gifts of RA - it doesn't just take, it gives, as well. You will find love and friends again, people who accept you for who you are, not for what you do and I recommend that you reach out to other people with chronic diseases who can offer a level of support and understanding that others often can't. This site is great - we have a very supportive community both here in the Q&A section and if you want to post your own SharePost down the line, you may want to do that, as well.   Hang in there. There's hope.