This file is the catch-all + integrator file for rheumatology/MSK — it owns the non-inflammatory soft tissue rheumatism entities (bursitis, tendinitis, adhesive capsulitis, plantar fasciitis, Dupuytren's, trigger finger, ganglion cyst), the central sensitization syndromes (fibromyalgia, juvenile fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome [CRPS]), the pediatric musculoskeletal pain syndromes (growing pains, benign hypermobility syndrome), and the MSK manifestations of endocrine, hematologic, and gastrointestinal systemic disease.
Prerequisites
MSK Anatomy, Histology, Embryology & Joint Biology (joint anatomy — synovium, bursae, tendon sheaths, fascia, enthesis)Approach to Inflammatory Arthritis & Rheumatoid Arthritis (the four-pillar inflammatory arthritis framework — applied here as the discriminator that separates inflammatory arthritis from non-inflammatory soft tissue and functional pain syndromes)Sjögren's Syndrome, Scleroderma & Inflammatory Myopathies (inflammatory myopathies — applied here as the differential that distinguishes primary myopathy from fibromyalgia and from systemic-disease-related muscle weakness)Monoarthritis: Crystal Arthropathies, Septic Arthritis & Osteoarthritis (synovial fluid analysis framework — applied here when ruling out septic or crystal arthritis in a patient with focal joint pain attributed to bursitis/tendinitis)Metabolic Bone Disease (mineral homeostasis — applied here to MSK manifestations of hyperparathyroidism, renal osteodystrophy)Bone & Soft Tissue Tumors (bone tumor differential — applied here to bone pain in heme malignancy and multiple myeloma)Muscle & Neuromuscular Disease (peripheral nerve compression syndromes and the muscle-weakness differential — applied here as the substrate for CRPS and for distinguishing fibromyalgia from primary myopathy)Pediatric Rheumatology & MSK (referenced for JIA, Kawasaki, HSP, and the limping child framework that contextualizes pediatric MSK pain)basic endocrinology (thyroid hormone effects on muscle, cortisol effects, growth hormone in acromegaly, insulin and glycemic control in diabetic cheiroarthropathy, iron overload in hemochromatosis arthropathy)basic hematology (sickle cell pathophysiology, hemophilic factor deficiency)basic gastroenterology (IBD, celiac, Whipple disease as a systemic infection)