Paget's disease of bone: Rheumatologic complications

Pain is the most common reason people consult a physician when suffering from Paget's disease of bone. The most common reason for patients' pain is osteoarthritis, either directly or indirectly induced by Paget's disease. The physician should make a concerted effort to target the origin of the pain, because effective treatments for the two conditions seem to be different. Back pain is particularly common and one must be careful before attributing back pain to Paget's disease; otherwise, both the physician and patient may be disappointed in the results of therapy. © 1999 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.