| Suffering from joint pain? | | | | 1.Connective tissue diseases. They're those diseases |
| You've got plenty of company! Roughly 40 million | | | | altering the body's support structure and its internal |
| Americans have arthritis or other rheumatic | | | | organs. The support structure includes skeleton, |
| conditions. And based on projected estimates, this | | | | muscles, tendons and ligaments. |
| number is likely to reach 59 million by the year 2020. | | | | 2. Autoimmune diseases. They're those diseases |
| What are rheumatic diseases? | | | | causing the immune system to get out of whack and |
| They're a medical condition in humans affecting joints, | | | | lose its ability to tell the difference between harmful |
| muscles, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and bones. | | | | invaders (viruses and bacteria) and the body's own |
| Some rheumatic diseases can also affect internal | | | | cells and tissues. |
| organs. | | | | Rheumatic diseases don't discriminate. They affect |
| There are well over 100 rheumatic diseases. The | | | | people of all races, ethnicity, age, religion and gender |
| defining features of these diseases are swelling, | | | | but some rheumatic conditions are more common |
| stiffness and constant pain. | | | | among certain groups of the population. |
| Rheumatic diseases are the leading medical condition | | | | For instance: |
| limiting physical activities among adults age 65 and | | | | - Rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, lupus, and |
| older. | | | | fibromyalgia occur more often in women than in men. |
| A lot of people mistakenly apply the word "arthritis" | | | | - Gout and ankylosing spondylitis are more common |
| to all rheumatic diseases. When in fact, the various | | | | in men than in women. |
| kinds of arthritis make up just a fraction of the | | | | - Lupus is three times more common in black women |
| rheumatic diseases. | | | | than in white women. |
| Rheumatic diseases fall into one of two groups: | | | | |