Polymyalgia rheumatica is a disease that is relatively rare in modern medical practice. It is associated with various autoimmune processes in the body. And today more and more patients are interested in questions about what are the causes and symptoms of the disease. Is it possible to get rid of polymyalgia permanently? Are there really effective treatments? What complications can the disease lead to? This information will be useful to many readers.
What is a disease?
Polymyalgia rheumatica is a disease that is accompanied by inflammation and soreness of various muscle groups. By the way, most often the disease affects the muscles of the neck, shoulder girdle, and pelvis, but the process can spread to other tissue groups.
A characteristic feature of the disease is the fact that the pain is most severe in the morning, after sleep, but during the dayweakens a little. Symptoms include stiffness in movement and muscle weakness. The disease is not a threat to human life, but constant discomfort significantly worsens its quality. In addition, the disease is associated with some complications. That is why it is so important to see a doctor in time and start appropriate therapy.
Epidemiology of the disease
In fact, such muscle diseases are not diagnosed very often. According to statistical studies, residents of countries located closer to the equator are most susceptible to this disease. Nevertheless, the likelihood of developing the disease is not excluded among the population of other states.
Cases of the development of the disease in patients under 50 years of age are considered an incredible rarity - people over 60 years of age are most often ill. Interestingly, women are diagnosed with this pathology about twice as often as men.
Muscle pain: causes of polymyalgia rheumatica
The causes of this disease are of interest to many patients. Unfortunately, today it is not always possible for doctors to find out why certain rheumatic diseases develop. It is believed that this form of polymyalgia is associated with various autoimmune processes in which the immune system fails - it begins to produce antibodies that affect the body's own, he althy cells.
There is a theory that such diseases are genetic in nature and are inherited from parents to children. Nevertheless, there are factors that can provoke the development of the disease. In particular, various infections can be attributed to the list of causes - adenoviruses, parainfluenza viruses and some other pathogens are considered the most dangerous. In addition, it has been proven that Horton's disease, giant cell temporal arteritis, can trigger an autoimmune process.
Of course, gender (women get sick more often), older age, place of residence, etc. can also be attributed to risk factors. In any case, the disease requires a well-chosen treatment regimen.
Polymyalgia rheumatica: symptoms
Of course, the question of the features of the clinical picture is extremely important. After all, rheumatic diseases are accompanied by various symptoms. Immediately it should be said that this form of polymyalgia develops abruptly - the signs appear unexpectedly, and their intensity increases every day. The "peak" of the disease occurs after about 2-4 weeks.
Typically, patients first notice an increase in body temperature and the appearance of weakness. If in the first few days muscle pain is perceived as one of the signs of intoxication of the body, then after some time a person realizes that it is pain that is the main symptom. Of course, in such cases, the patient is interested in what caused such intense pain in the muscles. The reasons may lie precisely in the development of the rheumatic form of polymyalgia.
Most often, the disease affects the muscle groups of the shoulder and pelvic girdle, as well as the neck. Pain is present in this case.almost constantly - it can be jerking, pulling, stabbing. As a rule, in the morning, patients note not only an increase in soreness, but also the appearance of stiffness in movements. The disease affects not only actively working muscles, but also those tissues that constantly experience static loads. As a result, discomfort appears not only during movement, but also at rest - patients are forced to constantly change their body position. Temperature exposure does not affect the condition of the muscles, so cold or hot compresses have no effect. Pain also cannot be relieved with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics.
Some patients experience numbness of the fingertips. In addition, the development of palmar fasciitis is possible, which is accompanied by swelling of the wrists. Sometimes, against the background of polymyalgia, arthritis of the small joints of the phalanges, as well as the knee and wrist joints appear.
On the other hand, the disease is accompanied by some other, non-specific symptoms. In particular, constant bouts of pain prevent a person from sleeping, which affects his emotional state. Signs of illness include loss of appetite, weight loss (up to anorexia), as well as general weakness, depression, and sometimes even depression.
How to recognize the disease?
Unfortunately, today there are no exact diagnostic criteria. However, in medicine it is customary to consider the presence of polymyalgia rheumatica if:
- patient's age is over 60-65;
- induring clinical tests, an increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate is observed - up to 40 mm / h or more;
- patient complains of pain in the pelvic and shoulder girdle, which is symmetrical;
- there is morning stiffness that does not go away for more than 1 hour;
- constant discomfort haunts a person for at least two weeks, and the number of symptoms and their severity is constantly increasing;
- the patient has weight loss, general weakness, depression;
- with a single administration of prednisolone at a dose of not more than 15 mg per day, the patient's condition improves rapidly.
To make a diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica, all of the above factors must be present. After all, there are other muscle diseases that are accompanied by similar symptoms.
Modern diagnostic methods
If you suspect the presence of such a disease, you should immediately consult a rheumatologist. To begin with, he will conduct an examination, prescribe appropriate tests, and also check compliance with the international criteria scale.
Patients take blood tests - during the study, a slight degree of anemia and an increase in ESR are detected. Tomography, X-ray and ultrasound examinations are also carried out. A laboratory study of synovial (articular) fluid confirms the presence of neutrophilic leukocytosis. But a muscle biopsy with such a disease is not considered informative.
Based on all the information collected, the doctor maymake a final diagnosis and develop an individual treatment regimen.
Medicated treatments
To date, the only really effective method of eliminating inflammation is taking corticosteroids, for example, "Prednisone", "Prednisolone" and some others. Patients are prescribed low doses of hormones. In most cases, therapy lasts about eight months, but in more severe cases, doctors recommend taking drugs for 1-2 years. Stopping treatment too early or reducing the dose of hormones can provoke a new exacerbation of the disease.
Treatment of this type of rheumatic disease includes regular exercise therapy, which is especially important if patients suffer from stiffness of movement.
Since long-term hormone therapy can provoke osteoporosis, as a preventive measure, patients are prescribed nutritional supplements and mineral complexes - this will help prevent the development of calcium deficiency.
Are there any complications?
Today, many patients are interested in questions about what constitutes polymyalgia rheumatica, symptoms, treatment and causes of the disease. Of course, muscle pain brings discomfort to a person’s life, but they are not a direct threat. However, the disease can cause some complications. In particular, against its background, true arthritis of the joints often develops, which only worsens he alth.
One of the mostserious complication is inflammation of the temporal artery. This disease is accompanied by extremely severe pain in the temples, which increase at night. It is also possible to weaken vision, up to its loss (most often the eye from the side of the affected artery suffers). Left untreated, temporal arthritis can lead to myocardial infarction.
Is it possible to treat the disease with folk remedies?
Of course, patients are wondering if there are home remedies that can get rid of a problem like polymyalgia rheumatica. Treatment with folk remedies, of course, is possible. For example, young birch leaves are considered quite effective. First you need to pour boiling water over them and let them soften. After that, the leaves should be applied to the affected areas of the muscles, covered with compress paper on top and wrapped with a scarf. The compress should stay overnight. Therapy lasts at least a week.
Some folk healers also recommend drinking a decoction of corn stigmas. And tincture of mullein with vodka (applied externally) will also help eliminate soreness. It is these methods that are used to eliminate the disease called polymyalgia rheumatica. Treatment, however, cannot replace hormone therapy. Home remedies should only be used as an adjunct and only with the permission of your he althcare professional.
Diet for polymyalgia rheumatica
It is immediately worth noting that polymyalgia rheumatica requires some dietary restrictions. The fact,that pain is exacerbated in the presence of obesity. Moreover, one of the side effects of hormone therapy is a rapid increase in body fat mass.
Naturally, you should not strictly limit yourself in nutrition - the body must receive enough vitamins, minerals and nutrients. But you should limit the amount of sweets and pastries. In addition, overly spicy, fatty and fried foods should be excluded from the diet. It is not recommended to abuse alcohol. At the same time, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean, steamed meats, as well as cereals and dairy products will help provide the body with all the necessary nutrients. It is very important to include calcium-rich foods in the diet, as the daily intake of this mineral during hormone therapy is 1000-1500 mg.
What are the prognosis for patients?
Many people today are not only interested in the question of what constitutes polymyalgia rheumatica (symptoms, treatment and causes of the disease are described above) - they want to know what are the chances of patients to recover? To begin with, it is worth noting that medicine knows cases of spontaneous extinction of the disease - such a phenomenon is rare, but still possible. Moreover, in most cases, with properly selected hormonal therapy and all precautions, full recovery occurs over time.
But the refusal of drug treatment or the advanced form of the disease is fraught with negative consequences. In some patients, polymyalgia rheumatica acquireschronic nature - this form is characterized by an undulating course with the regular occurrence of exacerbations.
