Rheumatism, or rheumatic disorders, are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. This term does not designate any specific disorder but covers at least 200 different conditions, including arthritis and “non-articular rheumatism,” also known as “regional pain syndrome” or “soft tissue rheumatism.”
Rheumatism is a popular but indefinite term for any of a variety of disorders marked by inflammation, degeneration, or metabolic derangement of connective tissue structures, especially joints and related structures, with pain, stiffness, or limitation of motion. It includes such disorders as arthritis, osteoarthritis, bursitis, and sciatica.
Wikipedia defines rheumatology as a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. It covers more than 100 different complex diseases collectively known as rheumatic diseases.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a notable example of a rheumatic disease. It is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints, typically resulting in warm, swollen, and painful joints. The pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrists and hands are involved, with the same joints typically involved on both sides of the body. RA may also affect other parts of the body, including the skin, eyes, lungs, and heart.
Symptoms of rheumatic diseases often include joint stiffness, which is usually worse in the mornings and after inactivity, fatigue, fever, and loss of appetite. Early rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect smaller joints first — particularly those that attach the fingers to the hands and the toes to the feet. As the disease progresses, symptoms often spread to the wrists, knees, and other larger joints.
Rheumatic diseases affect not only the joints but also tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles. Among them are many types of arthritis, a term used for conditions that affect the joints. Sometimes they’re called musculoskeletal diseases.
For further detailed information, please refer to the following sources:
Merriam-Webster for the definition of rheumatism,
Medical Dictionary for a broader understanding of rheuma,
Wikipedia for an in-depth look at rheumatoid arthritis,
Mayo Clinic for symptoms and causes of rheumatoid arthritis,
WebMD for an overview of rheumatic diseases.
