Rheumatic Diseases by - Southland Arthritis located in Fallbrook California
Rheumatic diseases include a number of conditions involving the large and small joints. Rheumatology is the study of joints and the muscles attached to them. Your Temecula Rheumatologist can help you with all kinds of rheumatic diseases, and this article will give you an idea of the kinds of diseases you can have checked by them. The different kinds of rheumatic diseases cab strike at any age. However, most of them occur after middle age or in late old age. All of them have one thing in common, they cause pain and swelling around the joints. There may be general body pain as well, but it is not particularly necessary. Some of the subtypes of rheumatic diseases may be due to an auto-immune reaction, which basically means that the ody’s i u e syste starts destroyi g its ow tissues. A few o o diseases a Te e ula rheumatologist will treat are: Osteoarthritis A large number of Americans and Europeans suffer from Osteoarthritis. Your Temecula rheumatologist can inform you that this disease basically causes tearing of the joints. This means that it causes the joints to age prematurely and be destroyed. Osteoarthritis leads to cartilage degradation, which consequently causes the bones of the joints to rub together, as cartilage is the cushion which causes smooth movement of joints in a normal, healthy person. It most commonly affects the hips, neck and fingers. To confirm your Osteoarthritis, your Temecula rheumatologist will ask your complete medical history and do a physical examination as well. They may take fluid out of your joint and do a blood test to confirm the disease. After confirmation, the treatment is started on an urgent basis, as any kind of delay can lead to serious irreversible injury to the joints involved. Rheumatoid Arthritis This is one of the most common types of arthritis. The most commonly affected individuals are women, as this involves the immune system and women are most susceptible to immune system related diseases. It is important not to confuse rheumatic arthritis with rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatic arthritis is caused by bacterial involvement, where as in rheumatoid arthritis there is no bacterial involvement. The difference is important when being treated for one of the two. The immune system starts acting against the joints and tissues of the body. This causes the joints to become painful and swollen. The joints may be stiff and the person may feel tired after doing a normal amount of work. If left untreated the joints can become deformed and the diseases may spread to other organs of the body such as, the lungs and eyes. Lupus Arthritis: This disease is a part of SLE, which stands for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. It involves multiple organs of the body and causes arthritis like symptoms in the joints. The typical symptoms like, joint pain, stiffness, swelling and difficulty in performing different activities, may be present. It is important to get a thorough check up, as the cause needs to be treated, for the arthritic symptoms to go away.