JRACWhat exactly is JRA?Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), or sometimes called chronic juvenile arthritis, is a disease that affects children causing inflammation of the joints that makes the stiff and painful joints. This disease affects approximately one in a thousand children aged sixteen and under. Doctors have also found that the more joints affected, the more severe the disease and the symptoms are less likely to go into complete remission. There are three types of JRA, and each type is based on the number of joints affected in the first six months of active disease. debut. The first type, which is the most common, affecting 60% of children affected by JRA, is pauciarticular JRA. This form of the disease affects one to four joints in the child and is also known as oily arthritis. The joints most commonly affected are those of the knee and wrist. Inflammation of the iris with or without inflammation of the joints may also be present. The second type, polyarticular JRA, affects 30% of affected children, more in girls than boys, and affects five or more joints. The small joints of the hands are affected as well as major weight-bearing joints such as the knees, hips, ankles, feet and neck. In addition to joint inflammation, a low-grade fever may be present along with bumps or lumps on the body from areas subjected to pressure when leaning or sitting. The third type that affects 10% of children with JRA is systematic JRA, which affects the entire body. Skin rashes may appear and disappear, the lymph nodes and spleen may swell, accompanied by high fever and eventually lead to swelling of the joints causing stiffness and pain. CausesThe causes of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are not well understood in the medical world. Although most experts now believe that it is a combination of a number of factors such as: an overactive immune system that inappropriately attacks joint tissues as if they were a foreign substance; viral or bacterial infections are suspected to trigger the autoimmune process; and then there are the gen... middle of paper... then warm up the muscles with grazing and petrissage to the client's tolerance, then subject each joint to a series of range of motion and stretching exercises. The client and parents will be shown how to continue stretching and range of motion exercises at home between sessions. Sessions can be as focused as the client deems necessary. On days when the client is feeling well, a general relaxing massage would be a good option, provided they are keeping up with their home exercises. Then there are the days when the client is simply having a bad day on the pain scale, so a passive massage or energy work would be helpful. By the end of the sixth session the therapist and parents will sit down and discuss further treatment options for the pain. customer depending on how much he is improving. If the client is improving significantly, sessions will be reduced to once or twice a month depending on the client or if there is improvement but is progressing very slowly, the therapist may suggest additional weeks of once-a-week visits.