Comments on: Can Rheumatoid Arthritis Affect the Spine?

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:57:53 +0000

I’ve had RA for 17 years now, I take Methotrexate and Prednisolone, I had an MRI which showed Spinal Stenosis, which apparently is caused by arthritis in the spine, my Rheumatoligist says I don’t have it in the spine, even though I have on going neck and head pain, I’m confused to say the least.

By: Lorna

Lorna — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 15:35:58 +0000

Thankyou so much Kelly for your quick response and all you do for all of us that are dealing with this terrible disease.

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:30:25 +0000

Dear Lorna, this is common and I do hear it from patients all the time. I am glad you hear that you have docs who are taking this seriously. I hope they keep an eye on your neck & spine & continue to listen to your symptoms! If damage is severe enough to make the spine unstable or to impinge on the spinal cord, then surgery can be done to fuse joints and stabilize them. But there are other things done before that point, so hopefully that won’t be needed any time soon. Sometimes, just a brace can be used while the neck joints are inflamed or there are various types of injections to arrest inflammation or block pain. If you need to make decisions about what to do, you might need to see a good neurosurgeon to ask how you know when surgery is the option for you. Hope that helps some.

By: Lorna

Lorna — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:10:05 +0000

I have had rheumatoid arhtritis for 31 years and have started having neck pain and crunching sounds in my neck. My xrays 6 months ago showed degeneration in the c3 and c4. I now started having numbness and tingling from my neck down my arms when I lay down in bed at night. I saw my rheumatologist who is now setting me up for an MRI of my spine. Has anyone else been experiencing this and what was done to help this problem? Any suggestions would be helpful.

By: dldg

dldg — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:10:32 +0000

In Feb. 2011, I had double lumbar fusion, and was told my “neck is a mess” but not ready for surgery yet…oh, good…I also have other spine problems. I was told RA didn’t CAUSE my problems, but it “accelerated”them, what ever that means. At least I had a very good surgeon, and I’m doing better than expected. Funny thing, the Dr. said that this what he has learned to expect from his RA patients…they know how to live and work through pain, so they aren’t deterred by it. Guess that’s one “good” thing about living with RA…

By: Carolyn Parkman

Carolyn Parkman — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:04:05 +0000

I am 82 years old and was diagnosed with RA about 6 months ago. I had back surgery for a ruptured disk while in my thirties and retired several years later due to disk problems in my neck because at that time neck surgery was pretty primitive and I was pesimistic about it helping. Is it at all possible that these earlier problems could have been due to having RA during the earlier years before being finally diagnosed with it more recently?

By: Gary

Gary — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:37:37 +0000

Thank you for a very good article that brings attention to a neglected subject.
I too had horrible pain start in my neck (it was fractured when I was a teen) and spread from there. I have RA in all my joints, eyes – even my ribs hurt.
The doctor says I don’t have it in my neck or back, even though xrays show damage. My neck now makes crunching noises every time I move it.
It only lessened with the combination of RA drugs and even then It keeps me up at night, just not all the time.
I would like to see more open-minded doctors, instead of a quick dismissal of the “symptoms” as some seem to do, as described by many here.

By: Annette

Annette — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:00:28 +0000

Wow, Jacque thanks for that! its good to know!!

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:16:49 +0000

I just had major surgery on my neck 3 weeks ago. My orthopedic surgeon said the “something” has obviously destroyed my neck. I’ve had RA since I was a teenager. I am 45 now. I have also had two back surgeries. I know of another person with RA who has had 3 back surgeries and 1 neck surgery. I can honestly say that I am not convinced that RA DOESN’T affect the spine. I really think that the “experts” need to research this more.

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:47:29 +0000

Hi Constance,
I just saw this abstract:

Clin Rheumatol. 2011 Apr 20. [Epub ahead of print]

Coexistence of ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis in a female patient.

Baksay B, Dér A, Szekanecz Z, Szántó S, Kovács A.
SourceDepartment of Rheumatology, Hospital of Hungarian State Railways, Verseghy str. 6-8, 5000, Szolnok, Hungary, b.baksay@medrom2003.hu.

Abstract
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are two distinguished representatives of inflammatory rheumatic diseases. The two diseases differ significantly in their etiology, pathology, clinical signs, and in the nature of articular manifestations. Their association has been a rarity in the literature. Here, authors describe a case of a 55-year-old female patient with AS associated with RA. Her spinal symptoms started in 1979, and the diagnosis of AS was established based on the typical clinical picture and X-ray. She developed severe spinal deformity during the next decades. In 2005, peripheral polyarthritis developed, although neither the diagnosis nor the treatment was modified. In 2007, authors diagnosed seropositive RA. Therapy included anti-inflammatory therapy and traditional disease-modifying agents, eventually followed by biological therapy.

PMID:21505766[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]