Diseases that cause primarily pain and limitation of movement, and sometimes swelling and deformity in the muscles, bones, joints and ligaments that unite these structures are called rheumatism in general. .
· Rheumatism is not a single disease. Nearly 200 diseases fall into this class. Joint rheumatism (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis), soft tissue rheumatism (fibromyalgia, neck pain, low back pain) and osteoporosis are the most common among them.
· Rheumatic diseases are more common in women in general and their incidence increases with age. However, there are also diseases that are more common in men (gout, ankylosing spondylitis) or predominantly in young people (eg systemic lupus erythematosus). Rheumatic diseases can also be seen in childhood.
· The exact cause of most of the rheumatic diseases is unknown. It is mostly non-infectious-microbial. Inherited features (genetic predisposition) are important in some. Preventing external factors such as obesity, which increases the load on the joints, or smoking, which disrupts the vascular structure, is also beneficial for patients with rheumatism.
· Some inflammatory rheumatic diseases can affect our skin (redness, rash), internal organs (lung, kidney, brain, etc.) apart from the musculoskeletal system.
· As in all health problems, in order to make the most appropriate treatment in rheumatic diseases, it is necessary to make the correct diagnosis of the disease at the first stage. It may be difficult to diagnose rheumatic diseases, especially in the early period, and the patient may need to be examined and monitored by a specialist for a while. Symptoms of rheumatic diseases may change over time.
· A personal treatment plan should be made for each patient with rheumatic disease. Medications or treatments that are helpful for another patient may not be suitable for you. Applying treatments not recommended by your doctor may be useless and dangerous for you; Appropriate treatment may be delayed.
· In some of the rheumatic diseases, the disease may continue for a very long time. These diseases are called chronic (chronic) diseases. In this case, do not forget that the treatment will also take a long time and the drugs given should be taken under the control of the physician. Even if the treatments do not completely eliminate the disease, they aim to ensure that your daily life is pain-free and comfortable.
· Joint is the name given to most of the movable areas where our bones come together. Some of our joints are very mobile (eg elbow, knee, finger, ankle joints); some of our joints only allow bones to come together (joints in our skull). There are joints in our spine that allow us to move our neck and waist. The cartilage tissue in the joints prevents the bones from rubbing against each other.
· If your doctor states that your diagnosis is arthritis, they have concluded that you have inflammation in your joint or joints. Arthritis, in the foreground, is a disease of mobile joints. The most important symptoms of arthritis are joint pain, swelling, redness, warmth and inability to make normal movements of the joint. Pain can occur with movement of the joint, at rest and sometimes at night. Stiffness (difficulty in the movements of the joint) is more prominent in the patient’s joint area, especially in the morning and after rest. In these diseases, not only the joints, but also the muscles, soft tissues and ligaments around the joint can be affected.
· Prolonged arthritis can lead to joint deformity and inability to move the joint at all.
· Weakness and fatigue often accompany other symptoms in patients with arthritis.
· Osteoarthritis (arthrosis) is the most common joint disease, which is characterized by the deterioration (degeneration) of the structure of the joints, especially the cartilage. It most commonly affects the knee and hip joints, and it is rare to involve multiple joints. It is usually seen after the age of fifty. In this disease, pain usually occurs after movement, it is absent in the morning.
· Rheumatoid arthritis, in which inflammation of the membrane (synovia) in the joints and then the joint is predominant, is a common, chronic disease that can lead to the destruction of the joints over the years. Inflammation occurs in many joints. It is a disease that affects the whole body (systemic) and can also affect internal organs. It needs to be diagnosed early and treated with drugs for a long time.
· Chronic rheumatic disease involving the spine and pelvis joints is called ankylosing spondylitis. It is more common in young men. If left untreated, it can lead to limitation of spinal movements.
· Getting information about the diseases and drugs used by rheumatic patients positively affects their lives. You need to be knowledgeable about the drugs to be used and their side effects.
