AboutRusty Ford Expertise I can answer questions about most types of arthritis and the drugs and procedures used to treat them.
Experience I manage the one of largest arthritis websites on the internet http://arthritis-symptom.com/ I have been involved with publishing artritis research for 15 years and aswering questions related to almost any type of arthitis.
Organizations Arthritis-Symptom.com
Arthritis Foundation
Expert: Rusty Ford Date: 5/12/2008 Subject: RA tests
Question Hi,
I am 32 yrs and about 6 months back i started having this pain in my right heel. I used to sit for a while and when i get up would get helpless until i took a few steps. I ignored it until a week back when i begun feeling that it was getting a little hurty.
I went to an Ortho and he asked me to get a few tests done.Results for most of the tests were normal but for RA test it showed me a count of 12.9
Would like to know if this is anything serious ? can it be treated to a point as i used to be earlier ? Does my heel need any kind of an operation ?
Please please help me in my doubts.
Thanks
Reena
Answer Reena,
It is impossible to say. An elevated RA Factor by it self is meaningless. It does not diagnose what is going on in your heel. Having an elevated RA Factor does not mean you have arthritis. Many conditions can cause an elevated RA Factor and some people who have no disease have it.
An exact diagnosis is needed before anyone can say if your heel will get back to normal or not. The same is true as to whether or not you will need surgery.
Most arthritis conditions that show an elevated RA will effect more than one joint. This is good news because of all the possibilities of what your condition could be autoimmune arthritis is not one that you want to have.
In general, since the pain is located at one spot, I would say the odds are in favor of finding a treatment that will bring your heel back to normal or close to it.
Keep working with the doctors until you find the cause. You might want to see a Rheumatologist about the elevated RA Factor to see if it there is anything going on there.
