For a few months before I was diagnosed with PMR I had discomfort across my upper chest. I attributed it to everything from poor posture to muscle strain even though I felt I had done nothing to aggravate it. It lasted several months , went to a physio thinking it would help and I did the recommended exercises . A couple of month s later I had typical PMR pain which involved shoulders, hips and then backs of knees. Doctor diagnosed and prednisone almost immediately stopped all pain. That was in May 2023 . Titrated down to 4, had a flare , went back up and now back down to 5. All that time there was no upper chest discomfort. I am now noticing this again. It’s not painful but I am aware of it. Sorry for long story but just curious if anyone else has experienced this or knows about this. I have never read anything about it being part of PMR but this disease seems to have some surprises. Thanks for any input.
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Fishtacoqueen
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What do you mean by upper chest? I had decided discomfort across my collarbones - the sternocleidomastoid muscle is a double headed muscle that attaches at the sternum and collarbone and that can all be seen as inflammation in PMR
That is exactly where it was. Just didn’t pinpoint it properly. I mentioned that to my rheumatologist and she didn’t really say much. I wonder if this is starting up again if I might expect a flare? I have only been on 5 mg a couple of days. Thought I would give it a few until my body adjusts….
Could be though I suspect it can play up without a generalised flare. But if it spreads - don't ignore it!!
There are stretches for SCM tightness. SnazzyD has posted a lot about SCM problems and we do have lots of people posting who get the set of links from Snazzy and me! So it isn't uncommon.
piglette says a friend showed her a stretch in a cafe and it looked as if she was tying herself in knots - pretty sure it is in one of the links I found!!!!
Helpful thank you. Does anyone know a good stretch for the muscle that runs from the outside of the knee to the ankle, sorry of between shin and calf? I get very painful area below my knee and think it is a tight band between knee and ankle
It is difficult to stretch because it is a fascia problem and the fascia doesn't stretch, Since it tends to be an athlete's problem the stretches that would work tend to be "in your dreams" for us! However, No 2 here
is one that is used for a lot of problems including piriformis and isn't too horrendous to achieve. But your glutes are the region to work on really - all part of the same sort of system.
Thanks, I will give some of these a try. It is below the knee but to the right hand side. Not really involved in the knee joint as my osteopath just pointed out
As part of my symptoms, I had a tightness across my upper chest, above the breasts, and I couldn't extend my arms out straight horizontally. It, along with all my other symptoms has gone now, 18 months into decreasing Pred. Best wishes.
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Advice about handling work
Reducing - too fast ???
Continued discomfort 
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