New Patient Led Charity

Inflammatory Arthritis UK is new national charity run by volunteers living with inflammatory arthritis. Our vision and mission centres on inspiring resilience and empowering lives for anyone of any age living with inflammatory arthritis. We provide guidance, resources, and a supportive community to help individuals take control of their lives and navigate uncertain times with confidence and resilience.

What is Inflammatory Arthritis

Our immune systems are very important. One of its main goals is to protect us from infection. When it is activated, it can cause pain and swelling, such as what we see if we get a bad cold, or an infected abrasion or cut on our body. In autoimmune diseases for reasons which are unknown, the body overreacts and attacks healthy or normal parts of our bodies.

Inflammatory arthritis is a group of autoimmune diseases, where the immune system overreacts and attacks healthy tissues in the joints causing pain, swelling and stiffness. Other parts of the body can also be affected including skin, lungs, eyes and blood vessels. Treatment can help manage the symptoms and prevent the disease from worsening. Currently there is no cure for these diseases and if left untreated permanent joint/organ damage can occur.

Types of Inflammatory Arthritis

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Axial spondyloarthropathy
Gout
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus)
Reactive arthritis: A type of inflammatory arthritis that can be triggered by an infection.
Scleroderma
Inflammatory bowel disease related arthritis
Adult-onset Still’s disease

Main Symptoms

Swelling: Inflammation, redness and puffiness around the joints
Joint pain: Tenderness and pain in and around the joints, especially in the morning or after periods of inactivity.
Warm joints: Feeling warm to touch
Lower back pain: Pain
Stiffness: Difficulty moving joints, especially in the morning.
Fatigue: Feeling of exhaustion, more than tiredness.

Other symptoms can include digestive problems (e.g. poor appetite, diarrhoea), psoriasis (autoimmune disease that cause scaly, itchy and dry patches of skin) and dry and sore eyes.

Treatment

Medication is a vital part of treatment for inflammatory arthritis. Physical activity, a healthy lifestyle and looking after your well being will help manage symptoms, and are usually included as part of a whole person management programme.

The aim of medication is to reduce inflammation and disease activity, and are grouped in the following categories:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories: Reduce pain and inflammation i.e. ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib.
Glucocorticoids: Reduce inflammation, pain and joint damage, taken as oral tablets or injections.
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDS): Help slow the progression of the disease, protect joints and tissues from permanent damage. There are three subgroups:
Conventional DMARDs e.g., Methotrexate, Sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine
Biologic DMARDS: Target different parts of the immune system to block chemicals in the blood that activate the immune system to attack joints/tissue.
Targeted synthetic DMARDS e.g., Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors: Reduce inflammation by blocking the action of Janus kinases enzymes (a family of proteins that are part of the immune system).

Please note the information provided on this page has been approved by medical professionals.

Weekly Friday Podcasts

Tune in weekly to our podcast Inflammatory! with new episodes out each Friday.

We want everyone to understand what life is like living with a chronic fluctuating disease. Our founders Debbie and Katy, along with special guests, give a unique insight into their lives covering the realities of living with inflammatory arthritis (IA) in a positive and friendly way. They discuss topics that matter most to the community and answer real questions with honesty based on their experiences navigating life with IA.

At the end of each month there will be a question and answer session. So to be part of the Inflammatory! community please submit questions or as a voice note which could be played on the podcast to Debbie and Katy, see details below. Please note we do not discuss any personal information, give medical or scientific advice. Neither Katy nor Debbie is a medical professional, they discuss their lived experience only. For more information click HERE.

Blogs

Along with our podcast Inflammatory! we want to create a community of sharing our lived experience and learning from each other.

Living with inflammatory arthritis can be tough but it can also make the person you are today. Everyone’s journey is different and these posts are a fascinating read. Please do leave a comment.

Whether you live with inflammatory arthritis or a friend/family member we would really like you to share your story to help everyone have an understanding of how lives can be impacted by IA. For more information click HERE.

Research

Research into inflammatory arthritis (IA) has advanced significantly in the UK and globally. The introduction of biologic DMARDs in the late 1990s marked a major breakthrough, targeting specific parts of the immune system. More recently, JAK inhibitors have further expanded treatment options.

Alongside medical advances, care and management strategies have also evolved, emphasising movement over rest during flares to help maintain joint mobility and strength.

Despite this progress, many questions remain, such as why treatments work well for some but not others. Continued research is essential, and the voices of those with lived experience must be central to shaping the future of IA care.

This is where Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) plays a key role. PPIE means working with patients, carers, families, and the public as active partners in research, helping to shape priorities, improve relevance, and ensure that findings truly reflect real-life experiences.

One of our charity’s core aims is to promote best practice in PPIE and help ensure that research findings are accessible and relevant. Scroll down to find out how you can get involved, it’s not just clinical trials that can change lives.