Musculoskeletal involvement in scleroderma

Abstract

Scleroderma can be accompanied by arthralgias, inflammatory arthritis, flexion contractures, nerve entrapment, myositis, or myopathy. Antibodies in scleroderma can occur in other connective tissue diseases; overlap syndromes between scleroderma and Sjogren's syndrome, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis are reported. Many of the musculoskeletal symptoms in scleroderma are treated symptomatically; most treatments are not proven in randomized controlled trials in these patients. Musculoskeletal manifestations are a major cause of morbidity and disability in scleroderma.