Rheumatoid Arthritis Health Center

Conditions With Symptoms Similar to Polymyalgia Rheumatica or Giant Cell Arteritis

A number of conditions have symptoms like those of polymyalgia rheumatica or giant cell arteritis.

Polymyalgia rheumatica

Medical conditions affecting joints and muscles that may cause symptoms like those caused by polymyalgia rheumatica include:

• Rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammation of the membranes or tissues lining the joints. Symptoms include painful, swollen, and stiff joints.
• Polymyositis, an inflammatory muscle disease. Symptoms include muscle weakness, joint pain, trouble swallowing, fever, fatigue, and weight loss.
• Spondyloarthropathy, diseases of the spinal joints. Symptoms include pain, morning stiffness, and fatigue.
• Fibromyalgia. Symptoms include widespread muscle and soft tissue pain and tenderness, especially in the trunk, neck, and shoulders.
• Joint problems such as bursitis and tendinopathy. These problems usually happen in one joint but sometimes can be on both sides of the body, such as in both shoulders.
  • Bursitis is an inflammation of a bursa, a small sac of fluid that cushions and lubricates areas where tissues rub against one another. Symptoms include pain and swelling.
  • Tendinopathy is an injury to a tendon. Symptoms include pain and tenderness.
• Osteoarthritis. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, and sometimes swelling.

Other medical conditions that may cause symptoms like those caused by polymyalgia rheumatica include:

• Bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the heart valves. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, weight loss, and painful joints.
• Cancer of the kidneys, lymphatic system (lymphoma), ovaries, or stomach, or cancer of the bone marrow (myeloma).
• Hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid gland. Symptoms include fatigue, weakness, and depression.
• Hyperparathyroidism, an overactive parathyroid gland. Hyperparathyroidism can increase the amount of calcium in the blood. Symptoms include constipation, nausea, and fatigue.
• Parkinson's disease, a brain disorder. Symptoms include stiff muscles.

Giant cell arteritis

Medical conditions that cause symptoms like those caused by giant cell arteritis include:

• Stroke, often caused by atherosclerosis. Symptoms can include:
  • Sudden vision changes.
  • Sudden numbness, tingling, weakness, or loss of movement in your face, arm, or leg, especially on only one side of your body.
• Vision problems, such as macular degeneration or a detached retina. Symptoms can range from blurred vision to sudden blindness.
• Inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis) of the central nervous system. Symptoms are similar to those of a stroke, such as loss of vision, inability to use an arm or a leg, or trouble speaking.
• Takayasu's arteritis, a disease that affects the aorta and the arteries in the lung. Symptoms include vision problems.