Osteopathic approach to sacroiliac dysfunction in a patient with steroid myopathy: case report and literature review

Long-term steroid use has a well-documented risk of myopathy that imposes functional limitations for patients and challenges for health care providers. Proximal weakness from steroid myopathy affects support structures around the pelvic girdle and likely predisposes patients to somatic dysfunction. To the authors' knowledge, there are no prior reports in the literature that describe an osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) approach for patients with steroid myopathy. In the present case report, a 59-year-old woman with acute myeloid leukemia received a blood stem cell transplantation and developed gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease. High-dose steroids were prescribed, and she developed proximal weakness from steroid myopathy. The patient's acute inpatient rehabilitation was impacted by new onset left sacroiliac dysfunction. A patient-focused OMM approach was used to assist the patient in maximizing her sacroiliac function. The proximal weakness seen with steroid myopathy necessitates special considerations for an OMM approach to address somatic dysfunction associated with this disease.