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Joint Replacement Surgery
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/joint-replacement-surgery
What is joint replacement surgery? Joint replacement surgery removes damaged or diseased parts of a joint and replaces them with new, man-made parts. Replacing a joint can reduce pain and help you move and feel better. Hips and knees are replaced most often. Other joints that can be replaced include the shoulders, fingers, ankles, and elbows.
Growth Plate Injuries
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/growth-plate-injuries
What are growth plate injuries? The growth plate is the area of tissue near the ends of long bones in children and teens that determines what length and shape the bone will be once it is done growing. Each long bone— the thigh bone, the bones in the forearm, and the bones in the hands and fingers—has at least two growth plates, one at each end. Once your child has finished growing, the growth plates close and are replaced by solid bone. The growth plates are weak areas of your child’s growing skeleton, making it easier to injure them. Injuries
Scleroderma
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/scleroderma
What is scleroderma? Scleroderma is an autoimmune connective tissue and rheumatic disease that causes inflammation in the skin and other areas of the body. This inflammation leads to patches of tight, hard skin. Scleroderma involves many systems in your body. A connective tissue disease is one that affects tissues such as skin, tendons, and cartilage. There are two major types of scleroderma: Localized scleroderma only affects the skin and the structures directly under the skin. Systemic scleroderma, also called systemic sclerosis, affects many systems in the body. This is the more serious type of scleroderma and can damage your blood
Shoulder Problems
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/shoulder-problems
What are shoulder problems? Most shoulder problems happen when soft tissues in the joint and shoulder region break down.
Osteonecrosis
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/osteonecrosis
What is osteonecrosis? Osteonecrosis is a bone disease. It results from the loss of blood supply to the bone. Without blood, the bone tissue dies. This causes the bone to collapse. It may also cause the joints that surround the bone to collapse. If you have osteonecrosis, you may have pain or be limited in your physical activity. Osteonecrosis can develop in any bone, most often in the: Thigh bone (femur). Upper arm bone (humerus). Knees. Shoulders. Ankles. It is also called: Avascular necrosis. Aseptic necrosis. Ischemic necrosis.
Osteopetrosis
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/osteopetrosis
What is osteopetrosis? Osteopetrosis is a rare disorder that causes bones to grow abnormally and become too dense. When this happens, bones can break easily. In addition, bones may be misshapen and large, causing other problems in the body, such as problems with: Seeing and hearing. Fighting infection. Controlling bleeding. Osteopetrosis is a genetic disease that a child inherits from their parents. The disorder may be mild to severe, and symptoms may show up early after birth or later in adulthood.
Vitiligo
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/vitiligo
What is vitiligo? Vitiligo is a chronic (long-lasting) disorder that causes areas of skin to lose color. When skin cells that make color are attacked and destroyed, the skin turns a milky-white color. No one knows what causes vitiligo, but it may be an autoimmune disease. In people with autoimmune diseases, the immune cells attack the body’s own healthy tissues by mistake, instead of viruses or bacteria. A person with vitiligo sometimes may have family members who also have the disease. There is no cure for vitiligo, but treatment may help skin tone appear more even.
Acne
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/acne
What is acne? Acne is a common skin condition that happens when hair follicles under the skin become clogged. Oil and dead skin cells plug the pores, and outbreaks of lesions (often called pimples or zits) can happen. Most often, the outbreaks occur on the face but can also appear on the back, chest, and shoulders. For most people, acne tends to go away by the time they reach their thirties, but some people in their forties and fifties continue to have this skin problem.
Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/heritable-disorders-connective-tissue
What are heritable disorders of connective tissue? There are more than 200 heritable disorders of connective tissue that can affect the tissues between the cells of your body that give tissues form and strength. All of these diseases are directly related to problems in genes that are responsible for building connective tissues. The disorders are called “heritable,” because they are passed on from parent to child. Some heritable disorders of connective tissue change the look and growth of skin, bones, joints, heart, blood vessels, lungs, eyes, and ears. Others change how these tissues work. Many, but not all, are rare
Sports Injuries
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/sports-injuries
What are sports injuries? Sports injuries are injuries that happen when playing sports or exercising. There are two kinds of sports injuries: Acute injuries occur suddenly when playing or exercising. For example: Sprained ankles. Strained backs. Broken bones. Chronic injuries happen after you play a sport or exercise for a long time.
Fibromyalgia
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/fibromyalgia
What is fibromyalgia? Fibromyalgia is a long-lasting or chronic disorder that causes muscle pain and fatigue (feeling tired). If you have fibromyalgia, you have pain and tenderness throughout your body. Sometimes you may have two or more chronic pain conditions at the same time, such as: Chronic fatigue syndrome. Endometriosis. Irritable bowel syndrome. Interstitial cystitis. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ). Vulvodynia.
Paget’s Disease of Bone
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/pagets-disease-bone
What is Paget’s disease? Paget’s disease of bone is a chronic (long-lasting) disorder that causes bones to grow larger and become weaker than normal. Usually only one or a few bones have the disease. Many people with Paget’s disease do not have symptoms. However, the bone changes can cause: Bone pain. Misshapen bones. Broken bones (fractures). Problems in the joints near the bones with the disease. With treatment, many people can: Manage their symptoms. Improve pain. Control the effects of the disease.
Sprains and Strains
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/sprains-and-strains
What are sprains and strains? A sprain is an injury to a ligament (tissue that connects two or more bones at a joint). When a sprain happens, one or more ligaments is stretched or torn. A strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon (fibrous cords of tissue that connect muscle to bone). In a strain, a muscle or tendon is stretched or torn.
Osteoporosis
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/osteoporosis
What is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to become weak and brittle. This increases your risk of broken bones (fractures). Osteoporosis is a “silent” disease because you may not have symptoms. You may not even know you have the disease until you break a bone. Breaks can occur in any bone but happen most often in: Hip bones. Vertebrae in the spine. Wrist. You can take steps to help prevent osteoporosis and broken bones by: Doing weight-bearing exercises, such as walking or dancing, and lifting weights. Not drinking too much alcohol. Quitting smoking, or not starting if
Bioengineered Compound May Aid in Treating Osteoarthritic Joints
https://www.niams.nih.gov/newsroom/spotlight-on-research/bioengineered-compound-may-aid-treating
A bioengineered molecule designed to bind together key components found in the fluid that surrounds joint areas may improve lubrication and minimize friction. This could potentially slow the degeneration of cartilage tissue that occurs in knee osteoarthritis, according to a study conducted in rats and funded in part by the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. The study was published in Nature Materials. The synovial fluid that bathes our joints is composed of several types of lubricants, including hyaluronic acid (HA) and lubricin. In healthy joints, this fluid ensures that tissues move together smoothly and without
Novel Insights Into Causes of Scleroderma Offer Potential New Treatment Strategies
https://www.niams.nih.gov/newsroom/spotlight-on-research/novel-insights-scleroderma
Integrins, a large class of cell surface molecules, play a role in a skin disease called scleroderma, according to research funded in part by the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and published in the journal Nature. The study showed that targeting integrins in mice with a form of scleroderma reversed the skin abnormalities associated with the disease. Scleroderma is a potentially life-threatening condition in which previously healthy people develop scarring of the skin, and in some cases damage to blood vessels and internal organs. In most forms of scleroderma, the cause of the disease is
Modified Protein Improves Vitiligo Symptoms in Mice
Altering a key protein involved in the development of vitiligo may protect against—or even reverse—the pigmentation loss associated with the skin disorder in mice, according to recent research funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Vitiligo is a progressive autoimmune disease in which the skin cells that impart color (melanocytes) are destroyed, resulting in white patches on the face, hands and other parts of the body. Scientists are unsure what causes vitiligo. They are investigating the biological mechanisms that trigger the disease, as well as its
International Team Identifies Biomarker for Scleroderma
A higher level of a small signaling molecule correlates with a more severe form of scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune disorder that involves the abnormal growth of connective tissue, according to a study funded in part by the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The findings suggest that the molecule, CXCL4, could be used as a diagnostic marker for the disease and as a therapeutic target. Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease characterized by damage to blood vessels and thickening and scarring of the skin. In some cases, internal
MRI Findings Reveal Early Changes to Joint That Predict Development of Knee Osteoarthritis
https://www.niams.nih.gov/newsroom/spotlight-on-research/mri-findings-reveal-early-changes
Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a team of scientists has detected structural changes in the knee joint that precede signs of osteoarthritis seen on X-rays. The study, which was supported in part by the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), calls into question the assumption that damage to cartilage is the primary underlying cause of osteoarthritis. The findings appeared in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology.