Rheumatology


What is rheumatology?
Rheumatology is a subspecialty of internal medicine which deals with a wide array of musculoskeletal disorders, including arthritis conditions and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma and vasculitits. Rheumatologists have generally completed two years of subspecialty training beyond the usual 3 year internal medicine residency after medical school.

What is arthritis?
There are over 100 different kinds of arthritis! Arthritis literally means inflammation inside a joint. The most common kind is osteoarthritis. Frequently xrays, blood tests and sometimes other diagnostic procedures are required to determine the precise type of arthritis.

What is the best treatment for my arthritis?
It depends on the type of arthritis, this in turn requires an evaluation by a rheumatologist. Many new therapies are now available for arthritis conditions.

If I have joint pain, does this mean that I have arthritis?
Not necessarily, tendonitis (inflammation of a tendon near a joint) can also cause joint pain. An evaluation by a rheumatologist is necessary to distinguish the difference.