Polymyalgia - Important Facts That You Should Be Aware Of

Polymyalgia rheumatica in simple terms is an inflammation of the muscles which occurs mainly in the over fifties, women in particular.

It may come on gradually, or so suddenly that the sufferer is immobilised and in severe pain in a matter of seconds. When a G. P. is consulted and the symptoms have been described, before any intensive testing is done there is usually the simple question asked of the patient, 'Are you having trouble getting in and out of bed? and if the answer is 'yes' it almost always follows that they have got polymyalgia rheumatica.

The pain is invariably of the hips, thighs, shoulders and neck muscles. What causes polymyalgia rheumatica is not known. but it is thought that it might be connected with systemic lupus, temporal arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and in some instances cancer. However it is known generally as a form of rheumatism that affects the muscles of older people.

It has been said that a person will only suffer from the one attack after being given the correct treatment, but one elderly woman I have come across has had the illness three times with gaps of one to two years between attacks.

The tests most used to diagnose that polymyalgia rheumatica is present in a person are ESR tests which show the level of inflammation in the muscles of the patient. Once this kind of test has confirmed that polymyalgia rheumatica is present, a corticosteroid drug, prednisolone, is invariably prescribed.

In cases that I have known, the pain which is acute, has disappeared after taking the first dosage of prednisolone, but the down side of the treatment is that taking the patient off this drug which can be dangerous if done too fast. This can take up to eighteen months or more.

It should be noted that if it is found that polymyalgia rheumatica is shown to be connected with temporal arthritis in a patient, which can cause blindness if not treated promptly. a biopsy will be performed when a small sample of tissue will be taken for analysis from one of the arteries in the scalp.

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