Rheumatological problems in diabetes mellitus.

Major complications of diabetes mellitus--classified as microvascular and macrovascular, are more or less well understood. But musculoskeletal syndromes of diabetes are not rare and they are a major cause of morbidity. Musculoskeletal pain is a universal experience. Soft tissue rheumatism such as rotator cuff lesion of the shoulder, carpal tunnel syndrome and stenosing tenosynovitis are more common in subjects with diabetes mellitus. Articular musculoskeletal disorders also occur more frequently in diabetes mellitus. Careful history and physical examination are essential in reaching a specific diagnosis. Unnecessary investigations are expensive, may cause anxiety to the patients and if taken out of clinical context, lead to over-diagnosis and over-treatment. This article briefly covers the association between musculoskeletal disorders and diabetes mellitus.