Objective: To investigate seven common arthritis self-management metho
ds used by people with rheumatoid arthritis IRA) by studying their fre
quency of use and the patients' belief in their benefits. Also to look
at how people obtained information about such methods. Design: Cross-
sectional survey. Subjects and setting: Forty-one people with RA atten
ding a rheumatology outpatient department at a large district general
hospital. Results: Twenty-three recalled receiving some self-managemen
t advice from rheumatology team members, but most stated the commonest
source of information was arthritis books and leaflets (n = 29), Two-
thirds used technical aids and rest on a daily basis, half used exerci
se and heat (half doing so daily). A quarter to a half used relaxation
, joint protection and working splints (half doing so daily). Conclusi
on: People with RA reported using three or four self-management method
s simultaneously to help control symptoms. in the main, believing a me
thod to be beneficial was strongly related to its use. However, exerci
se and joint protection, whilst widely believed to be beneficial, were
less used. People reported problems with knowing how to do these corr
ectly, having insufficient time to practise sufficiently and difficult
y in establishing habits.