Geriatric rheumatology is the branch of medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 that studies rheumatologic disorders in elderly (joints, muscles & other structures around the joints). Sometimes it is called Gerontorheumatology.

Origin

The geriatric rheumatology

Rheumatology

Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...

 clinic provides evaluation and management services to patients with various musculoskeletal and soft tissue

Soft tissue

In anatomy, the term soft tissue refers to tissues that connect, support, or surround other structures and organs of the body, not being bone. Soft tissue includes tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, fibrous tissues, fat, and synovial membranes , and muscles, nerves and blood vessels .It is sometimes...

 disorders

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

. Evaluation of the elderly patient is often complex due to the many comorbid conditions encountered in this population often compounded by cognitive disorders, functional decline, polypharmacy

Polypharmacy

Polypharmacy is the use of multiple medications by a patient, especially when too many forms of medication are used by a patient, when more drugs are prescribed than is clinically warranted, or even when all prescribed medications are clinically indicated but there are too many pills to take ....

 and limited social supports.

Training & education programs

During training doctors observe and participate in the diagnosis and management of various rheumatologic conditions which contribute to elderly functional decline including connective tissue

Connective tissue

"Connective tissue" is a fibrous tissue. It is one of the four traditional classes of tissues . Connective Tissue is found throughout the body.In fact the whole framework of the skeleton and the different specialized connective tissues from the crown of the head to the toes determine the form of...

 disorders

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

, crystal diseases, osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease, is a group of mechanical abnormalities involving degradation of joints, including articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Symptoms may include joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, locking, and sometimes an effusion...

 and other soft tissue disorders. They also learn to differentiate these various clinical conditions, gain an understanding of the various treatment options available, as well as learn how to work with a multidisciplinary team of health professionals.

Some Departments of Medicine offer a three-year combined Geriatric-Rheumatology Fellowship

Fellowship (medicine)

A fellowship is the period of medical training in the United States and Canada that a physician may undertake after completing a specialty training program . During this time , the physician is known as a fellow...

, which is composed of a year of clinical geriatrics

Geriatrics

Geriatrics is a sub-specialty of internal medicine and family medicine that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. There is no set age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or...

 and training in clinical epidemiology

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

 and health services research, a year of clinical rheumatology

Rheumatology

Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...

 and an opportunity to explore scholarly geriatric-rheumatology research projects in the third year.

Many books and resources are available dedicated to geriatric rheumatology

Many geriatricians and rheumatologists are dedicated to this new subspeciality. Some internal medicine departments have established a separate geriatric rheumatology clinics]

Organisation & societies

International Society

Society

A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...

of Geriatric Rheumatology was established to help advancing research in the area of geriatric rheumatology and improve the quality of management of rheumatologic disorders in elderly.

See also

• International Society of Geriatric Rheumatology
• Geriatric rheumatology course
• American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation
• Cairo University rheumatology subspecialies
• Geriatric Rheumatology fellowship
• Geriatric Rheumatology, an Issue of Rheumatic Disease Clinics
• Geriatric rheumatology slides
• OSTEOPOROSIS SPECIALTY CLINIC
• geriatric rheumatology clinic
• Gerontorheumatology: the challenge to meet health-care demands for the elderly with musculoskeletal conditions.