Rheumatology.

Common Rheumatic Disorders What Causes Rheumatic Disease? What to Expect When You Have a Rheumatic Disease

Rheumatic diseases affect your joints tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles. Among them are many types of arthritis, a term used for conditions that affect your joints.

Sometimes they’re called musculoskeletal diseases. Common symptoms include:

Joint pain

Loss of motion in a joint or joints

Inflammation -- swelling, redness, and warmth in a joint or affected area

The medical field that studies these types of conditions is called rheumatology. If your regular doctor thinks you have a rheumatic disease, he’ll probably send you to a rheumatologist -- a doctor who’s specially trained to treat them.

Your rheumatologist will examine you to diagnose your condition, then oversee a treatment plan for you that will likely include medications, regular exercise, a healthy diet, stress management, and rest.

Common Rheumatic Disorders

Years ago, conditions like this fell under the broad heading of rheumatism. Now there are more than 200 distinct rheumatic diseases. Among the most common ones are:

Osteoarthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

Lupus

Spondyloarthropathies -- ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA)

Sjogren’s syndrome

Gout

Scleroderma

Infectious arthritis

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Polymyalgia rheumatica