Soft Tissue Rheumatism

Rheumatism is a term, which is used to describe a medical problem, that affects the joints and connective tissue. The term rheumatism is a colloquial term, but it is no longer used in medical literature. An alternative term for rheumatism used in some countries is fibromyalgia syndrome. Normally, when one talks about rheumatism, the concentration is on arthritic aspect of rheumatism. However, soft tissue rheumatism, also known as non-articular rheumatism or regional pain syndrome is often known to cause significant discomfort and difficulty. In soft tissue rheumatism all the parts around the joint, which ache are included, namely the tendons, ligaments, muscles, fascia as well as the joint capsules. Bursitis and tendinitis, myofascial pain syndrome, fibromyalgia are also form of soft tissue rheumatism. Now that we know what is soft tissue rheumatism, we will turn towards the symptoms of soft tissue rheumatism.

Soft Tissue Rheumatism Symptoms

The rheumatism symptoms are different for different types of soft tissue rheumatism. We will the each one of them now.

Bursitis and Tendinitis
This type of soft tissue rheumatism is also called localized soft tissue rheumatism. This is often the type of is the kinds where one says 'my shoulder hurts', 'my elbow hurts', 'my back hurts', etc. The pain often in the shoulders, elbow, back, heel, etc. is a symptom of bursitis and tendinitis. Trigger finger, hip pain is also an indicator of this type of rheumatism. Occupational injuries, which give rise to repetitive motion injury is also a form of soft tissue rheumatism.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Myofascial pain syndrome is a type of soft tissue rheumatism which exhibits regional distribution of pain, which is reproduced by pressure on a trigger point. Trigger point is an area within the belly of a muscle, which is tender. Pressure on the trigger point leads to pain and/or tingling in a characteristic distribution. The muscle, where the trigger point is located often has a spasm or is shortened. If the muscle is stretched or contracted it leads to pain in and around the muscle area. The muscle is taut in the area of the trigger point, which is leading to pain. In such cases, injection may be given to the muscle where the trigger point is located to get rid of local as well as referred pain.

Fibromyalgia
In this type of soft tissue rheumatism there is widespread ache and pain. The pain can be defined as pain in all four quadrants of the body, where the waist and spine serve at the points of reference. These pains often become chronic, are generalized aches, pains or even stiffness in some cases. There are about eleven or more tender points, which have been identified, which cause this pain. These points often tend to be symmetric and bilateral in fibromyalgia. The other symptoms, which also point to this type of rheumatism are disturbed sleep, generalized fatigue, subjective swelling or even numbness, pain in neck, chronic headache, irritable bowel syndrome, among other symptoms.

The treatment used in soft tissue rheumatism differs depending on the type of rheumatism. Often NSAIDs are prescribed to the patient. In case of bursitis and tendinitis, icing the area twice or thrice a day and stretching are recommended. Stretching helps to prevent recurrence. On the other hand in myofascial pain syndrome NSAIDs are given. Physical therapy along with massage therapy prove to be helpful in rheumatism treatment. To treat fibromyalgia stretching and flexibility exercises are often prescribed. Yoga also proves to be beneficial. Muscle massage, stretching along with physical therapy are helpful. It is recommended, that you do not diagnose your condition yourself, as some of the symptoms may be misleading as well.