Rheumatology

What is a Rheumatologist?

Each year a large number of people develop symptoms such as back pain, neck pain, muscle pain or swollen and painful joints. Often, these symptoms are not severe and may last just a few days, in which case the GP will provide advice or treatment and allow the problem to resolve. But, if the pain persists or is severe, your GP may decide to refer you to a rheumatologist.

A rheumatologist is a specialist physician who has expertise in diagnosing and treating diseases of the joints, muscles, bones and immune system.

Sometimes the term rheumatic disease is used to describe this group of diseases.

The more common rheumatic diseases include:

Joint Disease or arthritis

• Osteoarthritis

• Gout

• Spinal Problems

• Rheumatoid arthritis

Muscles & Tendon problems

• Fibromyalgia

• Tendonitis

Bone Disease

• Osteoporosis

• Paget’s disease

There are also a number of rarer rheumatic conditions that can affect other parts of the body including the skin, hair and internal organs. These include “lupus”, myositis, vasculitis and scleroderma.