<s>[INST] How Does Inflammatory Arthritis Do Damage to the Body? [/INST] Your system is attacking itself. Inflammatory mediators are sent to the joints which lead to joint damage. This leads to the classic deformities when you look up rheumatoid arthritis and people can really start to lose function of their hands. That doesn't happen very often anymore because the treatments work so well. Source: Illinois Bone & Joint Institute. Link: https://www.ibji.com/blog/rheumatology-autoimmune-care/common-questions-about-arthritis/. Field: Rheumatology. Disease: Arthritis </s>