Patient Resources
The internet provides an overwhelming amount of information regarding general arthritis as well as specific diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. The following are websites that we recommend as reliable online resources.
This page is designed to help rheumatology patients and caregivers find out about rheumatic diseases and conditions, common medications used to treat rheumatic diseases, resources for assistance, and the rheumatology health care professionals who will be helping you throughout your journey.
This website is designed to prepare youth with rheumatic diseases and their families for the transition to healthy adulthood.
The Arthritis Foundation is the Champion of Yes. Leading the fight for the arthritis community, the Arthritis Foundation helps conquer everyday battles through life-changing information and resources, access to optimal care, advancements in science and community connections. Our goal is to chart a winning course, guiding families in developing personalized plans for living a full life – and making each day another stride towards a cure. We also publish Arthritis Today, the award-winning magazine that reaches 4.2 million readers.
Simple Tasks and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) offer a variety of trusted educational information about arthritis and other rheumatic diseases for patients and caregivers. The resources aim to educate the public by deepening the understanding of the impact of these diseases, thereby ensuring those who suffer from their effects receive the proper treatment to enhance their quality of life.
Our mission is to educate the public and to inform the medical community about lupus, to advocate or earlier life-saving diagnosis, to support people living with lupus and to collaborate with government and foundations to fund research toward a cure.
We are devoted to solving the mystery of lupus, one of the world's cruelest, most unpredictable, and devastating diseases, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact.
Sjögren’s (“SHOW-grins”) is a systemic autoimmune disease that affects the entire body. Along with symptoms of extensive dryness, other serious complications include profound fatigue, chronic pain, major organ involvement, neuropathies and lymphomas.
Spondyloarthritis can sometimes be referred to as spondyloarthropathy, and informally, spondylitis. The term seronegative can at times precede any of these terms, and simply means that certain antibodies commonly associated with rheumatoid arthritis and other rheumatic diseases did not present in the person’s bloodwork.
Scleroderma, or systemic sclerosis, is a chronic connective tissue disease generally classified as one of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The word “scleroderma” comes from two Greek words: “sclero” meaning hard, and “derma” meaning skin. Hardening of the skin is one of the most visible manifestations of the disease.
Vasculitis (vas-kyu-LI-tis) is a condition that involves inflammation in the blood vessels. The condition occurs if your immune system attacks your blood vessels by mistake. This may happen as the result of an infection, a medicine, or another disease or condition.
CreakyJoints, a part of the nonprofit Global Healthy Living Foundation, was founded by arthritis patient Seth Ginsberg and social entrepreneur Louis Tharp in 1999 when Seth was an isolated college freshman in his dorm room bunk bed, thinking, “Where is everyone else who is going through this?”
Gout is an extremely painful form of inflammatory arthritis caused by an accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints. These crystals can also deposit in other tissues throughout the body, such as the kidney, which can lead to kidney stones. Gout is more common in men over the age of 45, but it can occur in anyone at any age. Factors ranging from a family history of gout, to having other health issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease, can increase risk for developing gout.
The Myositis Association was founded to improve the lives of persons affected by myositis, fund innovative research and increase myositis awareness and advocacy.