Rheumatic diseases differ greatly in their etiology, severity and course of the disease. However, they all cause significant disability in daily activities and in the socioeconomic context, including the workplace. They also have an extremely devastating effect on the patient's locomotor system, regardless of the type of these diseases we are talking about. Pain is a significant challenge for individuals with rheumatic diseases, often intense and persistent, associated with subsequent physical disability, but the use of a holistic approach that includes medication, physical therapy, and patient education can bring significant benefits to the management of these painful conditions. Loss of function is a consequence of rheumatic diseases, which can progress despite the achievement of remission of the disease due to the development of muscle weakness, contractures, inactivity, depression, loss of self-confidence and inability to work. Rheumatology rehabilitation has a three-fold role: treatment of structural damage and dysfunction (therapeutic strategy), compensation of resulting incapacity and limited participation (rehabilitation strategy) and prevention of new symptoms and incapacity (preventive strategy). Physical therapy is indicated in all rheumatic diseases and the treatment of chronic non-malignant pain. The use of physical factors in therapy generally reduces pain and improves the physical and psychological well-being of the patient. The most common modalities of physical therapy used in rheumatology are thermotherapy (cryotherapy, warm compresses, ultrasound, short wave, infrared rays), electrotherapy (low-frequency alternating currents, interference currents, magnetotherapy, electrostimulation, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation /TENS/ and laser) and balneotherapy (peloids, hydrotherapy in thermomineral waters).