Other Forms of Rheumatism and Differential Diagnosis

Abstract

Up to this point, the main emphasis in diagnosis and treatment has been on rheumatoid arthritis. Its relationship with pre-arthritic states and osteoarthritis has been defined, with the rheumatic patch as the common factor. Let us now consider a number of commonly accepted clinical descriptions of disease which stand in isolation, implying that they are not related to other known forms of rheumatic disease: headaches, migraine, frozen shoulder, sprains and strains, tennis or golfers’ elbow, and low back pain.