Rehabilitation of the child with rheumatic disease

Rehabilitation of the child with rheumatic disease requires an interdisciplinary approach that includes the child and family. Although most often the physiatrist is not the treating physician in rheumatological disease, they can play a key role in the comprehensive manage­ment of these conditions, along with other members of the rehabilitation team, to maintain or restore age-ap­propriate function and development, prevent deformity and contractures, and help manage pain.