Rheumatology and Pain Management

Rheumatic conditions often cause chronic pain. These treatments may involve medications, rehabilitation or integrative services (e.g., acupuncture and acupressure).

Drugs to treat rheumatic diseases, such as  rheumatoid arthritis lupus, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and osteoarthritis have improved dramatically in the past several years. Today many of these drugs can help stave off or even prevent the destruction of joints that could have led to surgery.

Through rehabilitation and physical medicine services, a number of self-management programs are available to help people with rheumatic diseases manage or reduce the pain associated with these conditions.

• Osteoarthritis

• Back Pain
  Injections with local anesthetics and steroids can help alleviate back pain from rheumatic conditions.
  

• Bursitis/Tendonitis
  
  Persistent pain should be evaluated and treated by a physician. The rheumatologist, as a nonsurgical musculoskeletal disease expert, is well suited to manage treatment of tendonitis and bursitis because of experience and knowledge about patient education, rehabilitation and drug therapy.