Patient Guides
Every guide is written from the same reviewed record as our clinician pages, so what you read matches what your care team sees. Each one is printable.
Track your symptoms over time
Choose your condition, answer a few quick questions, and track your score over time with a trend and a printable summary for your appointment. Covers rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and Sjogren's.
Open the tracker Self-trackingHad a guided hip injection? Record your pain from a few hours afterwards out to three months, and see whether it eased your symptoms and how long the relief lasted. Includes a summary graph and a printable report.
Open the tracker Self-trackingTwo short validated PROMIS questionnaires for function and pain interference, handy for tracking your trend before and after a joint injection.
Open the tracker Self-trackingA quick, patient-reported measure of how active your rheumatoid arthritis is, from function, pain, and overall wellbeing. No bloods or joint exam needed. Save and print for your appointment.
Open the tracker Self-trackingThe standard measure of physical function in rheumatoid arthritis: eight areas of daily activities, scored and tracked over time with a printable summary.
Open the trackerCommon questions
Plain-language answers to what patients most often ask, written with Dr. Mahendira's team. Start with the general questions, or go straight to your condition.
Being believed, why diagnosis takes so long, fatigue, how medication decisions are made, what to do in a flare, and what you can do yourself.
Read answers Q&ARemission and reducing medicines, what happens if a drug does not work, monitoring, systemic effects, fatigue, and pregnancy.
Read answers Q&AThe skin-joint link, PsA without obvious psoriasis, comorbidities to watch, the diagnostic journey, and fatigue.
Read answers Q&AWhy a normal X-ray does not rule it out, why diagnosis takes years, being taken seriously, exercise, flares, and fatigue.
Read answers Q&APlanning a pregnancy and contraception, being believed, why monitoring matters, sun protection, and fatigue.
Read answers Q&AWhy it is not just wear and tear, why exercise will not harm the joint, injections, knee replacement timing, and hand OA.
Read answersYour wellbeing, and working with your team
The whole-person side of living with a rheumatic disease: the parts beyond the joint counts that patients tell us matter most.
Why fatigue happens, why it is worth telling your team about, and what genuinely helps: activity, pacing, sleep, mood, and treating the disease.
Read guide Living wellLow mood and anxiety are common with rheumatic disease and they matter. The mind-body link, why it is worth raising, and where to find support.
Read guide Living wellRheumatic disease can affect intimacy, and it is a common concern. How it happens, practical things that help, and why it is worth raising.
Read guide Living wellMany people work well with rheumatic disease. Adjustments that help, pacing at work, talking to an employer, and where to find support.
Read guide Your careHow treatment decisions are made with you, why there is usually more than one option, why you do not fail a treatment, and questions worth asking.
Read guide Your careFeeling dismissed is common, and it is not your fault. Why diagnosis takes so long, and what genuinely helps you be heard now.
Read guideMedication guides (rheumatic disease in pregnancy)
Usually continued in pregnancy. What the evidence says and what to watch.
Read guide MedicationGenerally stopped before conception. How far ahead, and why.
Read guide MedicationThe full set of 22 medication guides, by phase and by drug.
Browse allInjection guides (osteoarthritis)
What a hyaluronic-acid injection is, the mixed evidence, the fee, and what to expect.
Read guide InjectionA steroid injection for a flared, painful joint, and its benefits and risks.
Read guide InjectionA full guide is on the way.
Coming soonLiving well
Self-management and lifestyle guides for living well with rheumatic disease. Occupational therapy and quit-smoking guides also have versions within the General Rheumatology and Osteoarthritis clinics.
Moving well with rheumatic disease and in pregnancy.
Read guide LifestylePractical support for the pelvic floor through the perinatal period, and what to watch for with an inflammatory disease.
Read guide ExerciseWhere to find physiotherapist-designed pelvic floor and pelvic girdle pain programmes, plus a one-page starter sheet.
Read guide LifestyleWhen poor sleep signals active disease, why sleep hygiene is not the treatment, and what actually helps.
Read guide LifestyleYoga, tai chi, acupuncture, massage: what the guidelines grade, and the two safety warnings.
Read guide LifestyleProtecting joints and energy in daily life.
Read guide LifestyleWhy it matters for arthritis, what actually helps, and free Ontario programs.
Read guide LifestyleClinician-written meal guides for rheumatic disease.
Read guides Your careWhy they matter more with rheumatic disease, which to consider, live versus non-live vaccines, and how they fit around your medicines in Ontario.
Read guide Your careWhich rheumatology medicines are kept going and which are paused for a planned operation, how biologic timing works, and restarting afterwards.
Read guide Your careWhat the common tests are for, how disease-activity and safety monitoring differ, and what an out-of-range result really means.
Read guide Your careTravelling abroad on immune-calming treatment: which travel vaccines are live, why yellow fever needs planning, how to check your trip, and yellow fever centres in Toronto.
Read guide SupportVetted outside organisations, Ontario programs you can actually use, pregnancy and breastfeeding resources, and short videos, to use alongside our guides.
Read guideEvidence-based virtual exercise-medicine programs for rheumatic disease, with condition-specific tracks for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, axial spondyloarthritis, myositis, knee osteoarthritis, and bone health. Delivered over about 20 to 26 weeks, by referral.
Weekly patient deep-dives on living with rheumatic disease, smoking and alcohol, diet, supplements, fatigue, and movement, written by Dr. Mahendira's team and published on Arthros's Insights blog.
Finding physiotherapy and exercise programs
An evidence-based group education and exercise program for hip and knee osteoarthritis.
Visit site Find a PTThe College of Physiotherapists of Ontario public register: find and verify a physiotherapist near you.
Search the register OHIPWho qualifies for government-funded physiotherapy in Ontario, and where to access it.
Learn more