Condition Information

Review the following questions to learn more about rheumatic diseases and how to manage them.

What is Rheumatology?

Rheumatology is the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of the joints, muscles, bones, and tendons. There are more than 100 types of these diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, lupus, back pain, osteoporosis, and tendonitis.

These diseases and disorders can range from simple overuse syndromes such as tendonitis and bursitis, to serious immunological disorders such as lupus and Lyme disease.

Treating Rheumatic Diseases

A rheumatologist is a medical doctor who specializes in arthritis and related diseases. Most often, a patient is referred to a rheumatologist by their primary care physician after presenting symptoms of arthritis.

Rheumatologists are specially trained to do the detective work necessary to discover the cause of swelling and pain. A correct diagnosis is important so that treatment can begin in the early stages of the disease.

Premier Health Rheumatology cares for patients with rheumatic diseases such as:

  • Ankylosiing spondylitis
  • Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
  • Back pain
  • Gout/pseudogout
  • Inflammatory muscle diseases
  • Joint pain
  • Lupus
  • Lyme disease
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Osteoporosis
  • Other connective tissue disorders
  • Paget’s disease
  • Polymyalgia rheumatica
  • Positive ana
  • Psoriatic arthritis
  • Raynuad’s syndrome
  • Recurrent blood clots
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Scleroderma
  • Sjogren’s syndrome
  • Uveitis
  • Vasculitis

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