There are many diseases that cause pain and inflammation throughout your body. One of these diseases is called polymyalgia rheumatica, or PMR. PMR usually starts after age 50. It occurs twice as often in women as men. Persons with the disease may have the following symptoms and complaints:
* sudden onset of pain and stiffness throughout the body,
* worse pain upon awakening,
* pain that tends to decrease once a person starts moving,
* low grade fever,
* painful swelling or firmness of the temporal artery, located on the side of the face,
* fatigue,
* myalgias, or vague muscle aches like the flu, and
* weight loss, though this may be a very small amount of weight.

If you have these symptoms, your health provider may suspect polymyalgia rheumatica. If they do, they may do the following evaluation:
* careful history and physical examination,
* lab tests,
* X-rays of joints that are painful and,
* temporal artery biopsy.

If you are diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica, your provider may recommend the following treatments:
* aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs,
* injections of numbing medicine or anti-inflammatory drugs directly into the areas that are painful.

PMR usually does not lead to any progressive crippling or changing of your joints. For most people, the disease lasts only a few years, and then does not recur. There are a few people who continue to have symptoms for longer periods of time. The disease can be associated with temporal arteritis, an inflammation of the temporal artery, which if untreated may lead to blindness. A biopsy of this artery will confirm this problem.

Occasionally, your healthcare provider may refer you to a rheumatologist. This physician can assist your provider in determining the best care for you. Remember, you are also an important part of the health care team, and should be included in decisions about diagnosis and treatment.

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