Rheumatology is the treatment of musculoskeletal system medical disorders, in particular, your joints and surrounding soft tissues.
Enquire TodayRheumatology diagnoses and treats diseases that affect your muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons and can cause pain, swelling, stiffness, and joint deformities.
This speciality deals with musculoskeletal, autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Many of which run in families.
A rheumatologist will discuss your symptoms, personal and family medical history and lifestyle. They will perform a thorough physical exam and may order tests and review their results.
Diagnostic tests to find the possible cause of your rheumatology problem may include:
Your rheumatologist will diagnose your condition and develop a personalised treatment plan. This may include medications, joint and tendon injections, coping mechanisms and lifestyle management to improve your quality of life, and techniques to prevent disability or regain function. They may refer you to physiotherapy or to other specialists such as orthopaedic surgeons.
A rheumatologist will run follow-up appointments after treatment to see your progress and ensure it is working. Treatment may need tweaking and continual assessment.
You might see a rheumatologist if you
You should see a rheumatologist sooner rather than later. For some rheumatology diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, early treatment can prevent permanent damage to your joints.
Rheumatic disease refers to arthritis and other conditions that affect your joints, tendons, muscle, ligaments, and bones.
The most common rheumatic diseases include:
Other common rheumatic diseases include:
The symptoms of a rheumatic disease include:
Every person may have slightly different symptoms and the different types of rheumatic disease have different symptoms.
The costs of rheumatology vary from patient to patient. They will depend on the diagnostic tests required, your condition and the best treatment for it, whether ongoing care is required, and your Ramsay hospital of choice.
You will receive a formal quotation price after your consultation with one of our rheumatology specialists. This formal quote will be valid for 60 days.
The costs of rheumatology may be covered by medical insurance. We advise you get written confirmation from your insurance provider before your rheumatology care commences.
If you are paying for yourself, we offer a variety of payment options including interest-free finance.
The recovery process after rheumatology care will depend on what diagnostic tests or treatment you have.
The diagnostic tests for rheumatology tend to be day-case procedures that require no recovery afterwards.
Treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is often aimed at helping to manage the condition. There is therefore no recovery as such but ongoing symptom relief. You may experience some side effects of some drugs and they may take a while to take effect.
If you have osteoarthritis, lifestyle measures, medication and supportive therapies are the usual treatments to help relieve your symptoms. These don’t tend to need any recovery. If you have surgery to repair, strengthen or replace damaged joints recovery can vary depending on your age, your general fitness, the condition of your joints and muscles, your job and the type of surgery.
At Ramsay Health Care, our rheumatology service offers assessment, investigation, diagnosis and treatment to patients with a variety of musculoskeletal diseases. It is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of consultant rheumatologists, specialist nurses, physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals.
Consultant rheumatologists offer convenient appointments in outpatient clinics without waiting. They have direct access to our diagnostic services and to other specialists within the hospital including our consultant orthopaedic surgeons and physiotherapists.
We treat a wide range of rheumatology conditions, from inflammatory arthritis including rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, to osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, gout and lupus.
Whatever your rheumatic disease, we can care for you from investigation and diagnosis through to treatment and rehabilitation. We strive to provide the very best care that relieves your rheumatology symptoms.
Our expert consultants are committed to offering excellent care as soon as you need it; that's why they dedicate time to offer complimentary advice, with no obligation, so you can be sure before making a decision. Hear and speak to a Consultant within the speciality of your choice; get the information you need and all your questions answered to help you make a decision on your next steps in your healthcare journey.
View EventsOur specialist team will discuss your symptoms with you and advise on appropriate treatment tailored to you.
Based on your individual requirements your treatment will begin when you are ready and at a convenient time to suit you.
Our comprehensive aftercare provides support and guidance throughout your treatment and recovery journey.
After successfully completing a national program of local data audits, we are thrilled to have been recognised and named as a NJR Quality Data Provider.
Ashtead Hospital is celebrating after being named as a National Joint Registry (NJR) Quality Data Provider after successfully completing a national programme of local data audits.
The team at Ashtead Hospital recently had a visit from Rt. Hon Chris Grayling MP, the newly re-elected MP for Epsom and Ewell.