What you need to know about rheumatology
Rheumatology (ROOM-ah-tall-ah-gee) is a subspecialty of
medicine that works with various diseases that affect soft tissues, joints,
connective tissues, muscles, and organs such as kidneys, lungs, liver, and the
immune system.
Some of the more common ailments you might see a
rheumatologist to diagnosis and treatment include arthritis, Lupus,
fibromyalgia, and gout. Did you know that there are about 100 different types
of arthritis? The two most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the more common. An estimated 27
million Americans live with osteoarthritis. It is developed through wear and
tear on our joints as we age.
Rheumatoid arthritis or RA is much less common. Only about
one percent of Americans, 1.3 million people, live with RA. It is an autoimmune
disease where something triggers the immune system to fight against the tissue
found within the body’s joints. RA tends to affect women more than men.
Pain is one of the common threads that runs through
rheumatic diseases such as fibromyalgia, gout, arthritis, lupus, and other
rheumatic diseases. Women are often
diagnosed more frequently than men for these diseases. Pain management and
living well with chronic pain is something that rheumatologists provide for
their patients.
Area patients now have a broader scope of rheumatology
services available at GRMC. Eman Boulis, MD, with Central Iowa Rheumatology
Clinic has been seeing patients at GRMC since the fall of 2014. Boulis is
certified by the American Boards of Rheumatology and Internal Medicine. She has
published research on lupus and osteoporosis and has experience in the
diagnosis and management of RA, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, bursitis, carpal
tunnel, and joint and muscle pain, among other conditions and treatments.
For more information about rheumatology and the Central Iowa
Rheumatology Clinic at GRMC, call 641-236-2338.
www.grmc.us
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