Crippling arthritis came on swiftly for Otford performance painter and mother-of-two Sarah Rowan Dahl four years ago.
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Within a week the artist’s hands had started to stiffen and swell, and soon the painful condition was affecting her every joint.
Ms Rowan Dahl said she still remembers the shock she felt when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at just 31.
"Being a visual person it was important I could actually see what was happening inside my body."
‘’There was no notice – it just happened that over the course of a week I could no longer do things I had always done,’’ she said.
‘’Opening and closing my fingers became extremely painful, and they had doubled in size with the swelling.
‘’I started to have difficulty doing everyday things like knocking on doors, getting my phone out of my pocket, even holding a paintbrush.
‘’And then it spread – to my ankles, hips and knees.’’
Ms Rowan Dahl has struggled to keep the pain under control with medication and lifestyle changes – however a pioneering new method is helping her track the progression of the condition so she can keep ahead of it.
Sydney rheumatologist Associate Professor Fred Joshua is helping patients – including Ms Rowan Dahl – visibly see the structural damage the disease is causing using ultrasound.
The method can be used to detect joint inflammation and predict disease relapse or flare-up.
Ms Rowan Dahl said it’s given her a better understanding of her condition, and made her more committed to her treatment.
‘’Being a visual person it was important I could actually see what was happening inside my body and it really helped my husband to also have that level of understanding around the condition – what parts of my body were affected with inflammation and to make sense of my management program.’’
Professor Joshua said that ultrasound imaging technology was the next frontier in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, a disease affecting around 445,000 Australians.
‘’Severe, chronic rheumatoid arthritis leads to continued joint inflammation and deterioration,’’ he said.
‘’Doppler ultrasound has instilled patients with confidence as it can allow them to more effectively visualise their disease and motivate them to follow treatments correctly.’’
Professor Joshua, from Macquarie University, recently led a study into the effectiveness of the ultrasound method. In light of the positive findings, a program has been developed to train more Australian rheumatologists in its use.
