Rheumatology

Complete care for arthritis and other rheumatic diseases

Rheumatic diseases are conditions that affect the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons. Many of these are caused by autoimmune disorders, which involve malfunctions of the body’s immune system. These conditions can make it hard to enjoy the activities you love without treatment.

At the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Center of Excellence for Arthritis and Rheumatology (CEAR), you’ll get the care you need from our team of rheumatology experts. We’ve been caring for patients with rheumatic diseases since 1990, when the Louisiana State Legislature established CEAR to develop and expand clinical treatment and research related to these conditions. Since that time, we’ve become one of the country’s leading rheumatology programs.

Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic

Research has shown that one out of 250 children in the United States has pediatric arthritis or some other form of rheumatic disease. If your child or teen has a rheumatic condition, we’re here to help.

We treat children and teens with rheumatic diseases at our Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic, located in the Ambulatory Care Center in Shreveport. This is one of only two clinics in Louisiana dedicated to the care of pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases and the only one in northwest Louisiana.

Rheumatology conditions and treatments

Various forms of arthritis are some of the most common forms of rheumatic conditions we treat in our patients. These include:

• Osteoarthritis (OA), which results from breakdowns in joint cartilage
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which occurs when the body’s immune system attacks joint tissues
• Gout, a buildup of uric acid crystals that causes painful joint swelling, often located in the big toe or other parts of the foot
• Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a form of arthritis linked to psoriasis (a chronic skin disease) that involves the body’s immune system attacking both joint tissues and the skin
• Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), which involves the body’s immune system attacking joints in the spine

In addition, we treat other rheumatic conditions that are not related to arthritis, such as:

• Tendinitis (also commonly written as “tendonitis”), which involves inflammation and injury to the tendons that connect muscles to bones
• Lupus, an immune disorder that involves the immune system attacking healthy tissues throughout the body
• Scleroderma, a chronic condition in which the skin and tissues thicken and harden because of the body’s overproduction of collagen, a protein in the skin; our team has been recognized nationally for our scleroderma treatment and management as part of the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium
• Myositis, an inflammation of the muscles
• Vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels

We’ll work to identify what rheumatic disease you may have after a thorough examination and testing process. Once we’ve identified your condition, you’ll work closely with your rheumatology care team on a treatment plan that is customized for you and your unique needs. Your treatment plan may include:

• Medications, including anti-inflammatory drugs, pain medications and biologics (specialized medications that can target areas of the immune system that cause inflammation and damage)
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Rehabilitation
• Surgery