[A 81-year-old patient with physiotherapy-resistant upper limb tenderness].

A 81-year-old patient with a six month history of upper extremity tenderness, most likely due to an atypical presentation of a polymyalgia rheumatica, responded well to a course of systemic steroids. A good clinical assessment is of primary importance to distinguish polymyalgia rheumatica from giant cell arteritis and other possible differential diagnoses, and constitutes the basis of a controlled therapy with steroids.