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Has anyone experienced sc jt pain

Posted , 7 users are following.

william9999
william9999

I am a 52 yr old male and have been dealing with pmr for 2 1/2 years.  Initially my  pain was in my hips and legs and eventually  moved into my shoulders.  I have been on prednisone for 27 months now at various levels.  My latest taper brought me down to 2mg.  I am currently experiencing pain in my sternoclavicular joints and across to my ac jt on the left side and have a little swelling anterior to my trapezius muscle in the hollow area above the clavicle.  Lifting my  arms is difficult and causes pain in my sc joints and on the left side across to my clavicle. Also when lifting my left arm I have pain that shoots up the side of my neck and behind my left ear.  I called my rheumatologist and she moved my dose to 4 mg which has helped some but still having some pain.  It is worse with inactivity which is consistent with the pmr but just wondering if anyone has had similar symptoms as I am a little concerned that it is unrelated to the pmr. I appreciate any input.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • pparker1213
    pparker1213 william9999

    Posted

    I have been dealing with pmr since May of this year. Started with pain in both shoulders and both hips. 20 mg of Prednisone took care of this immediately. began a slow taper and was doing pretty good for a few months but my left shoulder was really bad. I could not really lift anything and thought I might have aggravated an old rotator injury. But X-rays taken while trying to diagnose the pmr had shown some arthritis in that ac joint. I went to an orthopedist and he suggested a cortisone shot. I went along with it and the next day I was a new man regarding that shoulder.

    I am still dealing with the pmr and down to 8 mg but that shoulder feels fine. Not sure this relates to you but I really felt the pain in that shoulder was nothing like the pmr pain and I guess I was right.

    Good luck.

    • william9999
      william9999 pparker1213

      Posted

      Thank you for your response.  I have had rotator problems in the past but this pain is definitely not that.  Most of it emanates from the sc jt
  • shawn99
    shawn99 william9999

    Posted

    Hi there,

    I am a 60 year old male with PMR (for 18 months).

    Originally my pain was in my hips and legs like you.

    It spread to my upper body after 6 to 7 months and is still with me.

    I was stuck on 15 mg of Pred until recently and have now been able to reduce to 13 mg and hopefully lower, albeit very slowly.

    I too had pain that shot up my neck, although it was intermittent. Every day was different as the pain made it's rounds.

    My GP/Internist told me that I was exercising too much, even though I was execising only when the pain levels were very low. He thought that maybe if I were to slow down a bit it would help.

    I do feel better after execise, mentally and physically the day of the exercise.

    So I don't know for sure if the exercise is causing the PMR to last longer than normal, what ever normal is.

    Currently I have trouble taking a deep breath and doing any kind of chest related exercises. The area around my rhomboid muscles are frequently affected, pretty much daily. My leg pain has slowed down thankfully and occasionally shows up.

    After reading and listening to other PMR sufferers it seems very hard to compare and generalize with anybody else as we are all so different in how we get affected.

    Shawn

     

    • william9999
      william9999 shawn99

      Posted

      Thank you Shawn.  What you have experienced sounds very similar.  You are so right about it being different every day with no rhyme or reason.  I guess I have no choice but to up the pred dose again.  Frustrating as I was so close to being off of it, especially when my legs and hips feel fine.
    • EileenH
      EileenH william9999

      Posted

      This is for both you and shawn in fact.

      The "too much exercise" is directed at the fact that in PMR your muscles have become intolerant of exercise - and that means it doesn't make a lot of difference waiting for a good day to exercise - it is the recovery time afterwards that is extended. Doing what previously was a moderate amount of exercise is now a lot - and you will suffer the same aftermath that you used to experience after running a marathon-type run for example.

      I don't know if you have been reading other current threads but this is something I have addressed multiple times. It is not uncommon for something called myofascial pain syndrome to appear alongside PMR. Google it for more details. It is now known that the trigger points they describe are concentrations of the same cytokines that lead to the pain and stiffness in PMR. At higher doses of pred it becomes or is less noticeable but as you reduce the dose it can reemerge. Or you can trip, hit your head getting out of the car or something like that and you effectively experience a whiplash injury type spasm in the back muscles. This can pinch nerves - causing sciatica and referred pain in the upper legs, round the ribs and into the shoulders and neck are the other common areas affected. 

      It can be addressed with cortisone injections - or massage can mobilise the trigger points which are in some ways adhesions between the layers of the muscles. Some people also find Bowen therapy is very beneficial.

    • vanessa66630
      vanessa66630 EileenH

      Posted

      Hi Eileen,as I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I fell and broke      my leg and my ankle, and had problems as ambulance service would not take me to hospital although I was outside and it was wet and I had no coat, but the thing that is most interesting to me is that although the pain in my leg was bad I had terrible pain and burning at the top of that leg, yedterday was the first day it was slightly better, after reading your message to william do you think this pain was due to PMR.
    • EileenH
      EileenH vanessa66630

      Posted

      Sorry Vanessa, it's really not possible for me to say something like that over the forum - you could have wrenched a muscle as you fell, there are so many things it could be. I do hope you are feeling better though - have you been able to make a complaint?
  • tina-uk_cwall
    tina-uk_cwall william9999

    Posted

    Hello William, I am 53 years old and was diagnosed with PMR this time last year although symptoms first began in the September. Throughout this rotten journey I have experienced many pains in many areas. I too have experienced pain in my trapezius muscles but if I remember no swelling, and I also experienced pain in my clavicles. I am presently experiencing the 2nd flare up in less than 6 weeks following an unsuccessful attempt to taper from 9 to 8 mgs. I am now back up to 10 mgs, my 2nd day to be precise and the flare up pain is still not quite under control. For what it's worth throughout these 2 flare ups I am experiencing some of the old pains plus some new ones, which only goes to show that nothing about PMR is simple! Hope you get it sorted soon. Christina 
  • pauline36422
    pauline36422 william9999

    Posted

    william what is the  normal name for all these joints  never heard of them,  is it shoulder, hips  buttock
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