Managing elderly patients with musculoskeletal disorders warrants a different approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15305/ijrci/v3iS1/167Keywords:
elderly arthritis, geriatric, musculoskeletal disorders, polymyalgia rheumaticaAbstract
Literature evidence indicates a direct association between advancing age and the incidence of musculoskeletal symptoms and limitation of movement.1 Elderly subjects, particularly after the age of 60-65, constitute a special category requiring greater attention and care.2 Various socioeconomic and age-related factors influence the quality of life in this group of subjects. The complexity of caring for elderly subjects could be grouped into three domains: medical complexities, challenges in interpersonal relationship, and administrative domain.3 The incidence of rheumatic diseases like polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is more in this age group. Some of the management challenges confronted are: atypical presentation due to malignancy, increased comorbidities, and variable clinical presentations due to physiological conditions like edema surrounding the inflammatory joint. This editorial for the special issue on ‘Geriatric Rheumatology’ discusses how the management of rheumatic disease in elderly should differ from the regular approach.
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