FAQ's
Rheumatology is a subspecialty of medicine that deals with the 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 and 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 :
- Degenerative arthropathies
- Osteoarthritis
- Inflammatory arthropathies
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Spondyloarthropathies
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Reactive arthritis
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Enteropathic arthritis
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Crystal arthropathies :
- Gout
- Pseudogout
- Septic arthritis
- Soft tissue rheumatism
- Low back pain
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer’s elbow
- Olecranon bursitis
- 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 joint replacement surgery or repair of broken joint structures. 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, and 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.
Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are two common bone conditions in the elderly. Due to the prefix “osteo,” which means “bone,” these disorders might occasionally be mistaken for one another. Despite the fact that they could have some characteristics, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are two distinct diseases. Both can be debilitating and severely impair mobility in the elderly patients.
Osteoporosis is a disease of bones in which bones become porous and brittle and hence can easily break, increasing one’s risk of a fracture.
Osteoarthritis is a condition of the joints in which the cartilage (cushion) covering the ends of the bones forming a joint degenerates, resulting in friction between two bones. Both the conditions are detailed in the disease section.
Osteoporosis is a disease of bones in which bones become porous and brittle and hence can easily break, increasing one’s risk of a fracture.
Osteoarthritis is a condition of the joints in which the cartilage (cushion) covering the ends of the bones forming a joint degenerates, resulting in friction between two bones. Both the conditions are detailed in the disease section.