Is the pain the chest due to spondyloarthritis?
Dr Anand Malaviya
Head of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology Services,
All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi Consultant Rheumatologist, 'A&R Clinic'
Visiting Sr. Consultant, Rheumatologist, ISIC Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi.
Head of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology Services,
All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi Consultant Rheumatologist, 'A&R Clinic'
Visiting Sr. Consultant, Rheumatologist, ISIC Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi.
Q: I was diagnosed with spondyloarthritis recently. My ESR & RA were normal but ANA was high (1:80). I get the worst pain in my left hip, right arm, neck and wrist. My rheumatologist says that the pain I feel in my chest and left breast, jaw, ear is myofacial pain and is a symptom. I had a mammogram done due to the pain and the result was negative. Is the pain in my breast and chest normal?
A:One component of spondyloarthritis is called enthesopathy. This is the term used for the presence of inflammation at the sites where ligaments and tendons join the bone. As the thoracic cage is full of these sites, it is quite common for inflammation to affect these points that cause the symptoms described by you.