Prevention

Since the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, there is no proven method for preventing it.

For osteoarthritis, you can reduce your risk by maintaining a normal weight. If you have osteoarthritis, being overweight puts more stress on your weight-bearing joints and increases your risk for knee pain (and possibly hip and back pain). If you're overweight, losing just 10 pounds significantly reduces your risk of developing osteoarthritis in your knees. Weight loss takes some of the pressure off your joints.

More on Arthritis

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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.