Did you know that Rheumatologists treat more than just Rheumatoid Arthritis?!

When people hear the term Rheumatology or Rheumatologist, they may not know what it means. After all, its not exactly a common term in the community!! If they do hear the term they may consider the term ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis’. Rheumatoid Arthritis is the disease most commonly associated with Rheumatology. And Yes!! We treat Rheumatoid Arthritis!! But, we also treat and investigate a whole lot of other things as well!!

Did you know that there are many different types of arthritis and that Rheumatologists are specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of all forms of arthritis? We are specialists in arthritis care.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is one type of arthritis. But there is also Osteoarthritis, and then other forms of what we call inflammatory arthritis such as Seronegative Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Reactive Arthritis, as well as different types of viral arthritis, bacterial arthritis, arthritis related to autoimmune connective tissues diseases such as Systemic Lupus and Scleroderma, and crystal arthritis such as Gout.

That’s a lot of different types of arthritis! 😱

Each arthritis needs to be diagnosed, and there can be many different types of arthritis at the same time, and, not all pains in the body are due to arthritis: correct diagnosis means correct management!

Arthritis is common.

Ankylosing Spondylitis affects 1-2% of Australians.

Rheumatoid arthritis affects 2% of Australians.

Osteoarthritis affects 8.3% of Australians.

Gout affects 0.9% of Australians.

Did you know that Rheumatologists are not just experts in Arthritis, but they also diagnose and treat musculoskeletal conditions and are experts in investigating causes of musculoskeletal pains?

Rheumatologists investigate, diagnose and treat muscle and joint pains.

If you have muscle and/or joint pains, it’s great to see a Rheumatologist for a comprehensive assessment. Pain in the body does not mean that there is arthritis. It can mean that there are other things going on. Correct diagnosis is key as it means correct treatment.  

Pain in joints or near joints, does not necessarily mean arthritis, as there are many different causes of pain in joints, near joints or in muscles. Rheumatologists are experts in evaluating these matters and some have a specialised interest in investigating musculoskeletal pains, such as myself. Musculoskeletal pains are often referred to as ‘soft tissue rheumatism’.

In addition to that, did you know that Rheumatologists also investigate for, diagnose and treat autoimmune connective tissue disorders (AICTDs)? These are diseases like Systemic Lupus, Sarcoidosis, different forms of vasculitis such as Giant Cell Arteritis, Sjogren’s disease and what are referred to as ‘undifferentiated connective tissue diseases’.

These AICTDs are diseases where the immune system, instead of defending the body against foreign intruding pathogens attacks part of the body’s own connective tissue, creating targeted inflammation against the body’s own tissue. The inflammation then causes disease and organ dysfunction, depending on which part of the body is being attacked. How a person is affected depends on which part of the body is being inflamed and how bad the inflammation is.

Autoimmune connective tissue disorders can be quite varied in their presentation and difficult to diagnose at times. There are many symptoms from these diseases and often people will be referred to Rheumatologists to see if their unusual symptoms can be explained by having one of these conditions. These diseases can be mild, or people can be very ill with these conditions. Each person is different and correct diagnosis and treatment is key for best possible outcomes.

On a daily basis, I see a mix of conditions. This ranges from questions about muscle and joint pains, to evaluating people for fatigue and hypermobility related conditions, to evaluating people for the possibility of autoimmune connective tissues disease, treating people with autoimmune connective tissue diseases such as Systemic Lupus (SLE) and vasculitis, to managing different forms of arthritis such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis and Gout,  and evaluating people with complex sets of symptoms for which there might not be just one obvious cause, where instead there may be many different causes of their symptoms. All of it needing comprehensive and astute evaluation for patient care and best possible outcomes.

I love my job and I love the support this field of Medicine can offer for so many people!

Have a spectacular day! 🌞