Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Rheumatology is a subspecialty of medicine which deals with diagnosis and treatment of diseases of bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons and connective tissue.

Rheumatological disorders range from chronically disabling arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis to multisystem diseases like vasculitis to milder but nagging and persistent pains like chronic back pain & neck pain.

A rheumatologist is a physician who has received further training in diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal diseases and systemic autoimmune conditions commonly referred to as rheumatic diseases.

Many types of rheumatic diseases are not easily identified in the early stages, a rheumatologist is specially trained to do the detective work necessary to discover the cause of swelling and pain. It is important to determine a correct diagnosis early so that appropriate treatment can begin early. Remember early treatment can prevent deformities and save you from disability.

Diseases diagnosed and managed by rheumatologist include :

  1. Degenerative arthropathies

      • Osteoarthritis

 

  1. Inflammatory arthropathies

      • Rheumatoid arthritis

      • Spondyloarthropathies

        • Ankylosing spondylitis

        • Reactive arthritis

        • Psoriatic arthritis

        • Enteropathic arthritis

  1. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis

  2. Crystal arthropathies :

      • Gout

      • Pseudogout

  1. Septic arthritis

  2. Soft tissue rheumatism

      • Low back pain

      • Tennis elbow

      • Golfer’s elbow

      • Olecranon bursitis

  1. Connective tissue diseases

      • Lupus

      • Sjogren’s syndrome

      • Scleroderma

      • Polymyositis

      • Polymyalgia rheumatica

      • Mixed connective tissue diseases

      • Fibromyalgia

      • Vasculitis

Orthopedic surgeons as the name indicates are surgeons and not physicians. They are trained in carrying out surgical procedures on bones like fixing a broken bone( Or fracture ) or carrying out joint replacement surgeries, repairing a ligament or a cartilage tear. Your rheumatologist may refer you to an orthopedic surgeon if you need a joint replacement surgery or repair of broken structures of joint. But remember a rheumatologist may also help prevent many unnecessary joint replacement surgeries and help explore non-surgical treatment options for certain conditions. Diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoporosis are to be treated with medicines and not surgery, hence one should consult a rheumatologist for these conditions and not an orthopedic surgeon.

Joint disorders that can be treated medically ( i.e without surgery ) are treated by a rheumatologist. Orthopedic surgeons specialize in surgical treatments and in the management of fractures.