Symptoms

Symptoms of Paget's disease of bone include bone pain, joint pain and problems caused by a nerve being squashed or damaged.

But in many cases, there are no obvious symptoms and the condition is only found during tests carried out for another reason.

1 bone or several bones may be affected. Commonly affected areas include the:

• pelvis
• spine
• skull
• shoulders
• legs

Bone pain

Bone pain caused by Paget's disease is usually:

• dull or aching
• deep within the affected part of the body
• constant
• worse at night

The affected area may also feel warm.

Joint pain

Abnormal bone growth can damage nearby cartilage, the spongy tissue that cushions your joints.

This can lead to "wear and tear" of the affect joints (also known as osteoarthritis), which can cause:

• joint pain
• joint stiffness
• swollen joints

The symptoms are usually worse when you wake up and improve a bit as you start to move.

Nerve problems

Abnormal bone growth can result in bone squashing (compressing) or damaging a nearby nerve.

Possible signs of this can include:

• pain travelling from the spine down into your legs (sciatica)
• pain travelling from your neck into your arms and chest
• numbness or tingling in the affected limbs (peripheral neuropathy) 
• partial loss of movement in your limbs
• balance problems
• loss of bowel control or loss of bladder control

Other problems

Paget's disease of bone can also cause a range of other problems, including:

• fragile bones that are more likely to break
• deformities in affected bones, such as curved legs (bow legs) or a curved spine (scoliosis)
• hearing loss, headaches, vertigo (a spinning sensation) and tinnitus (a noise in your ears) – these may occur if the skull is affected
• too much calcium in the blood
• heart problems

Read more about the complications of Paget's disease of bone.

When to see a GP

See a GP if you have:

• persistent bone or joint pain
• deformities in any of your bones
• symptoms of a nerve problem, such as numbness, tingling or loss of movement

A GP can organise tests to check your bones and look for problems such as Paget's disease of bone.

Read more about how Paget's disease of bone is diagnosed.

Page last reviewed: Mon Oct 2022 Next review due: Wed Feb 2020