Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Awareness Week 2021 takes place between September 13th and 19th, and is an annual event to raise awareness of the condition and the impact on sufferers and their families. The event is run by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS), which is a registered charity.

RA awareness week gives supporters an opportunity to help to raise awareness of the condition in a number of ways, including doing video recordings of themselves discussing the impact of the disease. Another awareness opportunity is for participants to run information stands in public places and hospitals and putting up posters. NRAS offers participants information packs and helps to promote their events.

RA is a painful autoimmune disease that affects joints as the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of the joints, leading to inflammation and stiffness, and it isn’t restricted to joints, it also affects the body’s organs, for example heart and lungs. The condition is seen in women more than in men, and affects approximately 1% of the UK population. It is a hidden condition, meaning that people do not always realise that sufferers are living with the disease.

The condition is not the same arthritis that affects older people, which is known as osteoarthritis, but can affect people of any age, and can either have an early onset, in teenage years, or start at any time in an adult’s life. There is no known cure, but advances in medicine mean that treatment can be very effective in reducing pain and symptoms.