If you visit a physician and complain of elbow pain, then hear that you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), that’s just a tag—not an answer. You may receive prescriptions for medications and physical therapy, yet no explanation of why you have it, or how you can heal from it. The doctor may say that RA is the body attacking itself—that is, the immune system mistaking parts of your body for invaders and trying to destroy them. That’s misguided. The body doesn’t attack itself.
