Question
I have been reading your FAQ and it seems that alot of people with post traumatic arthritis develop RA. I have post traumatic arthrits from multiple injuries sustained in a MVA in 2001. Fx femur, tib /fib fx, fx T4& T8, C3&C4, arms , wrist , acetabular fx and a spleenectomy. This last month I have developed RA starting out in my feet and hands. It just seems that there is a coorlation between the two. Just wondering if anyone has actually done research on patients with post traumatic injuries that later develop RA?
Answer
There have been some studies suggesting that trauma or bad infections or other insults to the body could trigger rheumatoid arthritis. However, the findings were never consistent from study to study. Anyway, pain in the hands and feet is nearly always the initial presentation of rheumatoid arthritis, regardless of whether there has been any injury to those joints or not.
