It affects synovial membrane of those particular joints that have synovial membrane short and rather medical brief on RA an overview

It affects the Cervical Spine yes. If your rheumatologist says something you don’t understand by all means pin the person down with your list of questions.

Bev, ive heard doctors say it doesnt affect the spine either. Dont know why it wouldnt affect the hips bc there are bursa, caltilage, tendons...we have immune cells throughout our body. They dont congregate or segregate or differentiate one cell from another very well. Thats the problem. They are Rogue cells that lost their programming.

My sister and I both have RA. Our hips swell up and are so stiff. Painful to walk, sit or lie down. My husband even saw that one side is noticeably larger than the other at times. Bc I say 'hey, take a look at this. Feels like one side is hot and puffed up.' Yep.

He can see swelling around my shoulder and knows my 'spots' on my back to massage. I had a chiropractor run his special device that reads inflammation 'higher than normal temperatures down my spine. He does this to mark joints to adjust. He said 'boy, your back is fevered and i can see swelling. I've had swelling in my ribs before. That isn't comfortable either.

You may have Osteo A or RA in your hips or something else. If you are hurting, you might request an MRI and hopefully get a definitive answer, if only to calm our thoughts even. Worrying does not help us any either.

I had a lumbar epidural steroid and that doctor was awesome. I had been suffering more than 2 months, not sleeping well at all, pain was going down my leg. A five second steroid injection was like a miracle for me. Took it easy a couple days, then back to walking and sleeping.

I hope you get answers you can believe and trust are correct. I just read the RA post above and that's great info and suggestions.

No, they have never given me prednisone until the last , sorry 2 summers ago was first time. I didn't have hip replacements just fractures repaired🤗❤️