Muscle tears and Sjogren's

[Carebear]

Dear friends,

Oh,  how I've suffered in the last several years. I have a tear in my left trap muscle, and it's never healed.  I've had treatments of all sorts, but I'll confess, I stopped doing my physiotherapy on recent times.

Now it feels like the muscles or tendons in my rotator cuff are torn or damaged too.  I am procrastinating making a phone call to my doctor because it will start a very long, exhausting and painful process.  Never mind frustrating too.

So, my drawn out question is:  can Sjogren's cause or contribute to this type of muscle damage?  Or is it just a part of the aging process?  That's what they tell me, but this started in my early 50s.

I need to educate myself before I see one more doctor or medical professional.  Tell me all about your experience with muscle or tendon damage that won't heal.  I appreciate your support.

[SjoGirl]

Hello Carebear, So sorry to hear about your struggles. I have had muscle tears as well along with numerous other issues such as a trigger finger, all of which docs attribute either to my SjS or RA.

Given that SjS is a connective tissue disease, as one doc told me that means it attacks were bone and muscle meet, it would seem that the disease would impact muscles. Now, I'm only repeating what I've been told, but it does make sense to me anyway that there is a connection.

[irish]

I would think that this muscle involvement is not an unusual thing as Sjogrens is a connective tissue disease as mentioned earlier.  Connective tissue is what sort of glues our body together and it is found almost everywhere I the body. Also, the tendons are another tissue that really gets inflammatory issues in Sjogrens and most connective tissue diseases.

I would think that after talking with your doctors it may be the time to get started on an immun suppressant to calm the inflammatory issues down. So many people are using CellCept these days with good luck. Let us know how things work out for you. Irish

[ohiolady]

Care ear,

You are not alone! I am currently in physical therapy for the second time this year. So many areas in my body are hurting. I must say therapy has helped me in each instance.

Hope you feel better and get some answers.

Anna

[Carebear]

Thank you everyone for your kind replies.  Sometimes we just need to know we are not alone in this battle.

I know intuitively that these muscle tears are somehow related to Sjogren's.  Regardless the cause,  I still need to deal with it.

Anna, I'm sorry you are experiencing such muscle pain too.  I have gone through many series of physical therapy  myself and it has been helpful for me as well.  I just feel so run done right now that I just don't feel up to another session. Not at this moment at least.

The last time I went to the pain clinic the physiatrist suggested that I consider prolotherapy to encourage healing of the tears.  This is where they inject a dextrose solution into the tissue to assist in the growth of normal cells or tissue.  It's a six month commitment of monthly treatments.  I'm reconsidering.  But there is no guarantee that it will work - kind of like most things,  it is a gamble.