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From someone who has RA since 1998 let me say there is life after. I have done a lot of reading on this disease since diagnosed and I don't think a physical injury can cause it. Stress usually causes a flare up with me more than physical exertion. Sounds more like osteoarthritis. But that's not what counts. It's the learning to deal with it and being able to "live" with it that counts.  Were you diagnosed with RA before you injured yourself or was that the diagnosis the doctor gave you after? Maybe it's something else. There are a lot of little bones in that area maybe you chipped one. How long ago were you diagnosed?  It was rough  at first with me too.  I tried to deny, blame, get angry until I finally said this is not going to conquer me. I was living with an alcoholic husband when I was diagnosed and under a lot of stress.  I too blamed myself for not getting out of this stressful situation in time.  First of all you need to get a good rheumatologist. Do not go through this with a regular doctor.  You need somebody that is up on the very latest treatments and there are new ones coming out everyday. I laugh to myself when my Mom who has osteo goes to her regular doctor  and comes home with medication from a century ago. I  tell her that is like driving a horse & buggy when there is a cadilac out there. The only person I had known with RA was a great-aunt and upon diagnosis, the first image in my head was Aunt Maude's knarled & twisted body. But my Rheumatologist quickly put that image to rest letting me know science is way up on this disease since that time. Next you have to get selfish. Before I was always the one everyone came to with a problem. I was "the fixer". I believed the world would quit turning if I weren't there. You have to learn to love yourself. As important as my family is. There are times I say to myself, "You people aren't killing me!". Get in your car & go to a place where you find peace (a lake, a river, a park, anyplace beautiful & peaceful away from your stressful situation). Now back to the doctor part, when I was first diagnosed and my doctor suggested strong drugs, my first reaction was, whoa let's start slow & save these drugs for later on when things get worse. WRONG!!! Looking back I best describe it as, "Let's start with a BB gun & work our way up to a cannon". Absolutely not! Every single day this stuff if damaging your body even when you have no pain. You need to blast it with everything you have to stop it in it's tracks. Through the years there have been a lot of different medications and combination of medications, battles with the insurance company over the cost of these medications, etc. But with God's help & my doctor's help and MY help I rarely have pain anymore. To make a long story short, I have gone through a lot and you have to be strong. I have had a lot of surgeries to correct damage RA has done before I got on the right medicine. I have even had my wrist fused. But if I didn't tell you you would never know. There's nothing I can't do. My motto is, "RA might get me but it's gonna have a fight on it's hands first!"