Polymyalgia rheumatica

a disorder characterized by recurrent rheumatic pain of muscles and joints, fever and malaise, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and inflammation of medium-sized arteries. These features suggest that polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis may be related or may even represent the same disease process.

The sites affected most commonly are the hands and the sternoclavicular, acromioclavicular, sacroiliac and pubic joints. Most patients have palpable synovial thickening or an effusion at some phase of the illness.