About

Rheumatology focusses on the diagnosis and management of painful disorders affecting soft tissues around the bones and joints. This can include musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis and systemic autoimmune conditions such as lupus.

Rheumatic diseases affect millions of people in the UK every day and cause a wide range of symptoms including:

• Ongoing joint pain
• Tenderness of the joints
• Joint inflammation or swelling
• Stiffness, redness and warmth
• Joint deformity
• Loss of joint flexibility or range of motionJoint deformity
• Fatigue, lack of energy and weakness

It is important to diagnose any of these symptoms quickly to establish whether you have an acute or chronic condition and to ensure an appropriate treatment plan can begin.

Common Applications

Rheumatology covers both inflammatory and non-inflammatory disorders predominantly affecting the joints, bones, muscles and soft tissues. General musculoskeletal conditions can affect anyone although the likelihood of some, such as arthiritis, rises with age.

There are over 200 musculoskeletal conditions and at Avicenna Clinic we can help to diagnose and treat them all accordingly.

Common conditions covered by our rheumatology care speciaslists include:

• Inflammatory arthritis
• Vasculitis and soft tissue conditions
• Spinal pain and metabolic bone disease
• Back and neck pain
• Bursitis
• Nerve impingements (sciatica, cervical radiculopathy, carpal tunnel syndrome)
• Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis

Treatment options

Your consultant will review your symptoms and assess your condition, giving a specialist opinion on whether further diagnostic tests or treatments are required. These will be explained fully in your consultation and may include:

• x-ray and other imaging methods
• soft tissue and joint injections
• spinal injections for relief of back pain
• musculoskeletal ultrasound

It is useful to do some preparation before your appointment as rheumatic diseases are sometimes complex and difficult to diagnose. You can do this by keeping a record of the pain or other problems and preparing a small medical history of your family.

Specialists

Dr Nilay Joshi

Dr Nilay Joshi has been a rheumatology consultant since 2009. He trained in rheumatology and general internal medicine in East Anglia and completed a Masters in Rheumatology from King’s College in London in 2010.

His specialist interests are early arthritis, connective tissue disease, fibromyalgia/chronic widespread pain syndrome and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Mr Jo Sunner

Mr Jo Sunner previously consulted at the Fitzwilliam Hospital as an osteopath for 16 years. He specialises in injury rehabilitation and musculoskeletal disorders that may cause migraine headaches, shoulder pain, sciatica, trapped nerves and arthritic pain.

He is also an expert in repetitive strain injuries, pain relief therapy, treatments for back pain, sports injuries and pain management methods.

You can access the Avicenna patient area and book an appointment here.