rheumatism

For over 25 years, naturopathic and internal medicine doctors have been treating practice clinic for diagnostics and preventive medicine near Cologne and Bonn patients with rheumatism.

They specialize in the early diagnosis of joint rheumatism and other rheumatic diseases such as muscular rheumatism (polymyalgia) or fibromyalgia.

In the treatment of rheumatism they combine internal Medicine and Naturopathy, Homöopathie or acupuncture.

The term rheumatism (synonym for polyarthritis) originally comes from Greek and means 'tearing, pulling pain'. Today we understand it to mean many Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, which often have similar symptoms and complaints, but whose cause, treatment and course are often completely different. In common parlance, rheumatism is used synonymously for rheumatoid arthritis, joint rheumatism or (poly)arthritis.

The term rheumatism must be distinguished from wear and tear and age-related changes in the musculoskeletal system, such as arthrosis of the joints.

Obesity is a strong risk factor for the development of arthrosis. A typical example of a rheumatic disease is so-called chronic polyarthritis. It is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body produces antibodies against its own joints. This leads to inflammation of numerous joints.

The so-called rheumatoid factor is often found in the blood, but there is also rheumatoid arthritis (chronic polyarthritis) without rheumatoid factor.

In contrast to arthrosis, patients with 'rheumatic diseases' have joint inflammation at rest, which improves with movement. Joint pain during the night and significant morning stiffness of the joints are also typical. However, it is often not just the joints that are affected. Internal organs can also be affected.

Possible complications include pleurisy or pericarditis.

Even inflammatory rheumatic vascular diseases are possible (vasculitis). Rheumatic diseases often require drug therapy. Anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs) are possible, and sometimes treatment with cortisone is also necessary.

The so-called long-acting antirheumatics (formerly basic therapeutics) also have a positive effect on joint inflammation in the long term. Today we also speak of disease-controlling medications. These medications are able to have a positive effect on the course of a rheumatic disease.