Chapter 54
Assessment and Management of Patients With Rheumatic Disorders
Rheumatic Diseases
- ―Arthritis‖
- More than 100 different disorders
- Affect primary the joints, but also muscles, bone, ligament, tendons, cartilage
- Classification
- Monoarticular or polyarticular
- Inflammatory or noninflammatory
Characteristic Degenerative Changes— ―Degradation‖
Joint space narrowing and osteophytes (bone spurs) are characteristic of degenerative
changes in joints.
Although the cause of degeneration of the articular cartilage is poorly understood, the
process is known to be metabolically active and therefore is more accurately called
―degradation.‖