Sauna for Rheumatoid Arthritis: How Heat Therapy Can Reduce Joint Pain and Stiffness

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you know what mornings are like. Your joints are stiff. It takes hours for them to loosen up. Your fingers will not cooperate. You have a deep ache that you just can’t get rid of, no matter how much you stretch. While medication is still the primary way to treat rheumatoid arthritis, more and more people are finding that heat therapy, especially saunas, helps with the pain they feel every day. Does it really work? That’s the question.

In this post, we will look at what saunas can do for people with rheumatoid arthritis. We will see what the research says and how to use heat therapy safely, so you do not make your symptoms worse. 

Rheumatoid Arthritis & Joint Inflammation: What You Need to Know

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease where your immune system attacks the lining of your joints by mistake. Over time, the condition causes your joints to swell, hurt, and get damaged. Osteoarthritis is when the cartilage in your joints wears out. Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that causes inflammation and can affect joints all over your body, often in the same places, on both sides.

Common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include: 

• Stiffness, in the morning or after sitting
• Swollen, painful joints
• Low-grade fevers and fatigue during flare-ups
• Reduced mobility in the hands, wrists, knees, and feet

RA is a systemic disease that cannot be treated with pain pills alone. Patients often use a combination of medications and physical therapy, exercise, and alternative treatments such as heat therapy to help reduce inflammation and increase mobility. 

Rheumatoid Arthritis: What the Research Says 

A study in Clinical Rheumatology looked at sauna therapy for people with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Seventeen people with rheumatoid arthritis got eight infrared sauna treatments over four weeks. 

The results were encouraging. People felt pain and stiffness and were less tired during the treatments. No one got worse. No one had any bad reactions. The researchers said infrared sauna therapy is safe for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis to use for a time. 

If you are thinking of setting up a sauna in your home, there are now many compact options available for personal use. Brands like Polar Recovery are making daily heat therapy a lot more accessible with infrared saunas made for indoor home use, so you don’t have to trek to the gym or spa every time stiffness sets in.

This is in agreement with what many RA patients already say they experience personally. The dry, penetrating heat appears to get deeper into stiff joints than a hot bath, without adding weight or pressure to swollen areas.

How heat therapy helps joint pain and stiffness

Heat therapy is one of the oldest forms of pain relief known to man. The mechanism is rather simple. When you heat a joint or muscle, blood vessels expand. More blood flows to the area. Better circulation means oxygen and nutrients to tissues and the removal of waste products that build up in inflamed joints.

Heat treatments are one of the cheapest forms of complementary therapy for stiff joints, says the Arthritis Foundation. Studies show that arthritis patients participating in warm water exercise classes two or three times a week experienced a reduction in pain of up to 40%.

Heat also aids in:

• Reducing tension in the muscles around the affected joints
• Decrease the sensitivity of nerves to reduce the signals of pain to the brain
• Making connective tissue more pliable, easier to move 
• Helping you sleep better when stiffness doesn’t let you sleep

And that’s where saunas come in. A heating pad or warm bath simply doesn’t provide the steady, all-over heat of a sauna.

Best saunas for arthritis relief

Not every sauna works the same. The three main types all heat the body in slightly different ways, and some are easier on RA joints than others.

Finnish traditional

These are traditional wooden saunas with high temperatures (usually 70 to 90°C) and low humidity. The dry heat can relax muscles. High temperatures can be intense. 

Infrared sauna 

Infrared saunas heat your body directly, not the air around it. The temperature is cooler (45-60°C), which is more comfortable for people who find traditional saunas too intense. The heat penetrates more deeply into the tissues, and this may be why most of the research that already exists on saunas and RA has looked at this type.

Steam-bath

Steam rooms have very high humidity, almost 100%, but the temperature is lower. The warmth of the moisture is kind to the joints, easy to tolerate, and can help with respiratory problems and RA. Some people with conditions like fibromyalgia like steam rooms because the moisture helps their muscles and skin.

If you have Rheumatoid Arthritis and are considering heat therapy, infrared saunas are a good option. The sessions are not as hot. You can stay in longer without getting too hot. 

Safe sauna use with rheumatoid arthritis

Heat therapy is generally safe. There are some rules to follow so you do not make things worse.

Do not use the sauna when your joints are actively inflamed. If your joints are red, hot, swollen, and inflamed, you should use therapy or rest instead. According to Harvard Health, heat is best used when stiffness is present, rather than when there is an acute inflammation.

Sessions should be short. If you’re new to saunas, try 10-15 minutes. Once your body is accustomed to it, you can work your way up to 20 or 30 minutes in an infrared sauna or 15 to 20 minutes in a traditional sauna.

Have water before and after. Saunas can dehydrate you by pulling a lot of water out of you via sweat. Dehydration can tighten joints and cause headaches, the last thing you need when trying to deal with RA.
Talk to your doctor before you start. Some Rheumatoid Arthritis medications can affect how your body handles heat. Your doctor can help you with any concerns. 

Speak to your rheumatologist before you start. Certain RA medications, particularly those that impact blood pressure or kidney function, may change how your body handles heat. A quick chat with your doctor can help address any concerns specific to your situation.

Conclusion

A sauna will not cure your Rheumatoid Arthritis. You should not stop taking your medication to use a sauna.. Saunas can help with the stiffness and discomfort that comes with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Research shows that using a sauna a few times a week can loosen up your joints reduce muscle tension and help you sleep better. If you want to try heat therapy, a sauna might be the relaxing part of your week.