Foot health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis—a scoping review

Rheumatoid arthritis affects joints and can cause significant impairments in daily life. The foot is often the first site of symptoms and foot problems are strongly related to RA. The aim of this review was, therefore, to describe foot health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and to identify how patients perform foot self-care. With this knowledge interventions to support foot health and functional ability in RA patients can be developed. The design of the review was a scoping review. A systematic literature search of three electronic databases, MEDLINE, CINAHL and Embase, was conducted in June 2016. The search yielded 1205 studies, of which 32 were selected for the review. The data were analysed by means of content analysis. Foot problems in RA patients are prevalent and impair their daily activities. Foot pain and foot structural deformities were the most prevalent problems. RA patients have difficulties caring their own feet and in finding proper footwear. Many different instruments were used to measure different aspects of foot health. Patients with RA have a high prevalence of foot and ankle problems. These foot problems are a major burden to patients themselves. RA patients’ ability to self-care ability can be diminished, since RA also affects joints in the hands. In future cross-cultural validation studies are needed to ensure psychometrically sound instrumentation. Methods to alleviate foot pain and to prevent foot problems in RA patients need to be developed and tested.