Rheumatic polymyalgia (RPM)

The disease affects people over age of 50, whose average age is about 70 years. The disease occurs in women twice as often.

It is a relatively common disease that affects about 700 out of 100,000 people.

The reason is unknown.

Manifested by pain in the muscle groups in the neck, shoulders and thighs.

Also, patients often complain of the following symptoms:

• fatigue;
• weight loss;
• subfebrile temperature;
• depressive symptoms.

About 10% of patients with polymyalgia also suffer from temporal arteritis.

Elevated ESR readings and other signs of inflammation are common. In the elderly, it is important to exclude other frequent diseases that can mimic the presence of this pathology.