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Rheumatoid arthritis

Lifestyle modifications

NUTRITION

  • Omega 3 fatty acids may decrease symptoms (1)

  • A healthy dietary pattern, e.g. mediterranean diet, is recommended as it also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (1)


PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

  • Regular aerob and resistance exercise reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis including disease activity, fatigue, pain, and improves mental health and wellbeing. See resources for more details (1)

  • Range of motion exercises improve joint movement (1)

  • High intensity weight bearing exercises and repetetive high impact activity may not be suitable for patients with joint structural damage (1)


WEIGHT

  • Obese patients with Rheumatoid arthritis are recommended to reduce weight as it reduces the strain on weight bearing joints (1)

References

Resources

Evidence Pyramid

EXPLANATION TO EVIDENCE PRESENTATION

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Evidence based on guidelines and evidence based Clinical Decision Systems is written in BOLD

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Evidence based on meta analysis or systematic reviews is written in BOLD and CURSIVE

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Evidence based on randomized controlled trials is written in plain font

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Evidence based on observational / cohort studies is written in CURSIVE

Figure: Evidence pyramid

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