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arthritiswarrior 
10:25pm, June 25, 2009
Docsbrat posted a question about whether you can get RA in the spine. I had to face this in the last year. It is so hard when even some doc don't recognize that you can. There are actually plenty of medical journal articles on this, but they are hard to sift through... I have done it some and will so it a lot more, but here is what I know now:
It totally depends upon which book you read!
All books say yes RA in the cervical spine (neck). Many also say yes in the lumbar spine (lower), but rarer. Most say No in the thoracic (middle). BUT I HAVE READ SOME THAT SAY, YES, RARE BUT POSSIBLE IN ALL SPINE, even in the sacrum (tailbone).
I also know for sure because I have it. The pain is not the same as OA or the degenerative disc pain, which I also have.
I actually talked to a really smart chiropracter and she said she "would NEVER adjust someone w/ RA since it is so dangerous." Then I read up on it. Spinal RA is dangerous in 2 particular joints only. if it gets bad enough, it could push on the spinal cord. That's rare too, Still scary though.
Doesn't matter whether it's "rare" when it is you! Plus, in my experiences of talking w/ RA-ers, it's not as rare as they say it is.
Boy! I did not mean to write a whole book here, maybe I'll just put it in a journal post.
