A rheumatologist may be an internal medicine physician or a paediatrician who is further specialized to diagnose and treat muscular, joints or autoimmune diseases similar to rheumatoid arthritis.

A rheumatologist can treat diseases like gout, osteoarthritis, chronic back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, tendinitis, spondyloarthropathies, psoriatic arthritis, and lupus.

You can see a rheumatologist for symptoms like back pain, joint pain, rashes, swelling in joints, itching or dry mouth, repeated fevers, bruising over skin, stiffness in joints or back, etc.

No, an orthopaedic doctor can only treat joint and bones related problems. However, a rheumatologist in addition to musculoskeletal diseases also treats unexplained fever, rashes and systemic autoimmune disorders.

A rheumatologist is only specialized in non-surgical treatments. Bone cancer can be treated by an orthopaedic surgeon.