Being a massage therapist or a massage client, it can sometimes hard to distinguish when a pain or a symptom is just that or part of a more complex condition. Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) and Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) are two conditions where this is often the case. When clients with PMR and/or GCA receive regular massage without medical treatment, often the client will feel a worsening of symptoms or a halt of response to massage, meaning that they are not getting worse, but their symptoms are definitely not getting any better. In the case of PMR and GCA, simple shoulder and hip pain can turn into blindness, stroke, or aneurysm if gone untreated. In today's blog, you will learn about what PMR and GCA are, who is at risk, and signs and symptoms of the conditions.What Are They?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica is a very scary and complicated sounding name. If you break it down, it means "many muscle pains and nonspecific joint pain." Giant Cell Arteritis is the inflammation of the abnormally large white blood cells. There cells can be found in the affected medium or large arteries' lining. It is often found in the temporal artery, but it also may be found in other arteries as well. Both of these conditions are autoimmune problems, which means that the body is attacking itself. The reason that we are discussing these seemingly separate conditions together is because these two are very closely related. It is very common that a person suffering from one of these conditions is suffering rom the other one as well. According to MedScape, "Approximately 15% of patients with PMR develop giant cell arteritis (GCA), and 40-50% of patients with GCA have associated PMR." Although there have been numerous studies regarding these two conditions and how they relate, there has been no conclusive evidence as to why these two conditions are so closely linked. Some researchers have proposed that PMR and GCA are part of a continuum. This being that PMR is the mild end and GCA is the severe end and patients can fall anywhere on that continuum. However, a person can experience both conditions at the same time, one without the other, or even in the reverse order; the continuum is proposed link of the two conditions.
Who is at Risk?
There are a few factors that increase the likelihood of a person having PMR and/or GCA, such as age, race, and gender. It is very rare that a person under the age of 50 experiences either of these conditions and most people experience these conditions over the age of 70. Caucasians are significantly more likely to have PMR or GCA than any other race, and females are also more likely to have PMR or GCA than males. With all of this being said, PMR and GCA can happen to any one of any age, and it is important to know the signs and symptoms of these potentially life-threatening conditions.
Signs and Symptoms
The most significant symptom of these conditions is pain. Pain centered around the hips and shoulders, along with headaches is a huge indicator of the conditions. Other symptoms include unexplained fever, cough, and sore throat, swelling, jaw pain, trouble getting up in the morning, weight loss, and depression. Another huge sign for massage therapists is if the client is not responding well to massage and either gets worse or stays the same for a long period of time. If you are experiencing a combination of these symptoms, please consult your doctor before continuing massage.The good news about PMR and GCA is that they are both easily treatable by steroid anti-inflammatory medication. Massage is a great way to complement the treatment once some relief has been seen in the patient. Massage is not recommended without the approval of a physician first when a client is suffering from PMR and GCA.
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