How the docs diagnose RA
The course of RA is unique to each of us. My RA announced itself to me as big and boisterous. Initially, I had sharp pain in my left shoulder. I thought it was from swimming as shoulders do get a workout in lap swimming. Quickly hands, fingers, wrists, ankles, feet and toes joined in. I was in total pain and largely incapacitated. I sought salvation to my problem in the ER, the only solution at the time. In 2010 the American College of Rheumatology(ACR) and the European League Against Rheumatism(EULAR) formed a working group to replace the 1987 ACR classification criteria for RA with up to date classification criteria. RA is at its most destructive in the first 2 years. It needs to be caught early and treated aggressively. The 2010 Rheumatoid Arthritis Classification Criteria became a big diagnostic help. The group came up with a 10 point system that covers four RA categories: joint involvement, serology, acute-phase reactants, duration of symptoms. The target population for this scoring must be patients who have at least …