Rick Sasso, MD

One type of arthritis that affects the spine/back is rheumatoid arthritis.  This common type of arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the tissue around the joints and other organs.  One of the most debilitating types of arthritis, according to the Arthritis Foundation, rheumatoid arthritis affects approximately 1.3 million Americans.  This disease is more common in females, than males; there are 2.5 times more women with rheumatoid arthritis than men.

When rheumatoid arthritis affects the spine, generally it is the cervical spine (neck).  Rheumatoid arthritis rarely affects the lumbar (lower back) or thoracic (chest area) spine.A few symptoms of this rheumatoid arthritis affecting the spine may include headache, neck pain or stiffness or weakness in the arms and legs.  Once rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed, if there are symptoms that indicate the cervical spine is affected, an X-ray of the cervical spine will be taken.  This X-ray can be used to assess the joints and intervertebral disc spacing and the overall structure.  Additionally, a MRI or CT Scan may be performed to evaluate if there is any spinal cord compression.