Rheumatology is a branch of medicine that deals with diagnosing and treating arthritis and other autoimmune diseases especially affecting the joints muscles and skin.
Arthritis is of many types and can affect all age groups. Common arthritis that we rheumatologists see are Rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, Spondyloarthritis aka Ankylosing Spondylitis, Reactive arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis, gout, etc. The good news is that it’s treatable and controllable and joint damage is completely preventable with minimal and safe medications if patients present to us early in the course of their disease.
A lot of times patients with chronic arthritis are told by some doctors that their disease is not treatable and that they have to be on steroids and painkillers lifelong. This is not true at all. The majority of our patients do very well without long-term steroids and painkillers. Treatment of arthritis has advanced to a great extent and we have wonderful and safe medications to offer to our patients.
So don’t be disappointed if you have joint pains just see a rheumatologist close by at the earliest and your pains and discomfort will be resolved.
