Our department specialises in the diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management of a wide range of conditions which affect the joints and surrounding tissues. Conditions treated include arthritis, osteoporosis, connective tissues and other systemic autoimmune diseases.
We work as a multi-disciplinary team of clinical staff, consultants, GP's, specialist rheumatology nurses and therapists. We are supported by medical secretaries and the booking team. We all work together to get the best outcomes for our patients. To access the rheumatology service, patients need to be referred by their GP or a hospital consultant.
What is Rheumatology?
Rheumatology is a medical specialty dedicated to the investigation, diagnosis, and management of musculoskeletal conditions and systemic autoimmune diseases, including:
Rheumatoid arthritis
Is a condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints. Hands, feet and wrists are commonly affected, but it can also damage other parts of the body. Rheumatoid arthritis can make your joints feel stiff and can leave you feeling generally unwell and tired.
Psoriatic arthritis
Causes painful inflammation in and around your joints. It usually affects people who already have psoriasis, a skin condition that causes a red, scaly rash, especially on your elbows, knees, back, buttocks and scalp. Some people develop the arthritic symptoms before the psoriasis, while others will never develop the skin condition.
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of chronic (long-term) arthritis that affects parts of the spine, including the bones, muscles and ligaments. The symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis can vary, but most people experience back pain and stiffness. The spinal joints and ligaments and the sacroiliac joints (the joints at the base of the spine) become inflamed. Inflammation in the spine can cause pain and stiffness in the neck and back. Sacroiliitis (inflammation of the sacroiliac joints) causes pain in the lower back and buttocks.
Other 'spondyloarthritides
including 'reactive arthritis' and 'enteropathic arthritis'.
Gout and pseudogout
Gout is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis and is often considered the most painful. Attacks of gout usually come on very quickly, often during the night, and are caused by certain chemical processes that take place within your body. Typical symptoms may include intensely painful, red, hot and swollen joints with the skin over the joint appearing shiny and peeling.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosis
An autoimmune disease where your immune system produces antibodies that attack your body’s own tissues, causing inflammation. Lupus can affect many different parts of your body. If your heart, brain or kidneys are affected, it can be much more serious, but most people will only have a few symptoms. Many people will find that the symptoms come and go.
Scleroderma
A long-term condition that causes your skin to thicken and harden, but it can also affect your internal organs. It’s an autoimmune disease, which means your immune system attacks your body’s own tissues.
Dermatomyositis & Polymyositis
Myositis means inflammation of the muscles which causes pain and weakness. Polymyositis affects many areas, mainly the larger muscles like those around your shoulders, hips and thighs. When polymyositis develops alongside a skin rash, the condition is called dermatomyositis.
Sjogren's syndrome
Sjögren’s (pronounced Shurgren’s) syndrome is a condition that mainly causes a dry mouth and eyes, though it can also cause a range of other symptoms including joint pain and fatigue. There are 2 types of Sjögren’s syndrome:
• Primary – when it occurs on its own
• Secondary – when it also occur in association with another rheumatic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or scleroderma
Vasculitis
Vasculitis is the name of a group of conditions that cause inflammation of the blood vessels. Inflammation is your immune system's natural response to injury or infection. It causes swelling and can help the body deal with invading germs. But in vasculitis, for some reason the immune system attacks healthy blood vessels, causing them to become swollen and narrow. This may be triggered by an infection, another underlying condition, or a medicine, although often the cause is unknown.
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Polymyalgia rheumatica (usually shortened to PMR) is an inflammatory condition that causes many painful muscles, mainly in your shoulder and thigh. If you have PMR you’ll have severe and painful stiffness in the morning, especially in your shoulders and thighs. PMR often strikes suddenly, appearing over a week or 2 and sometimes just after a flu-like illness.
Giant cell arteritis
Temporal arteritis, also known as giant cell arteritis, is a type of vasculitis where the arteries at the side of the head (the temples) become inflamed. It mostly affects adults over the age of 50 and can cause aching and soreness around the temples, jaw muscle pain while eating, headaches, double vision or vision loss. Some people with temporal arteritis also get polymyalgia rheumatica (muscle pain and stiffness in the shoulders, neck and hips).
Granulomatosis with polyangitis
Granulomatosis with polyangitis is a kind of vasculitis which can affect various parts of body. It occurs as a result of inflammation of small vessels and may affect any part of body, more commonly upper and lower respiratory tract and the kidneys.
Churg-strauss
Churg-Strauss Syndrome is a rare kind of vasculitis affecting arteries supplying heart, lung, brain, kidney and gut. It is commonly associated with asthma.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a health condition that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break. It develops slowly over several years and is often only diagnosed when a fall or sudden impact causes a bone to break (fracture). These fractures most commonly occur in the spine, wrist and hips but can affect other bones such as the arm or pelvis.
Paget's disease
Paget's disease of bone disrupts the normal cycle of bone renewal, causing bones to become weakened and possibly deformed. Most commonly affected bones are thigh, shin, pelvis, spine and skull.
