@reewhite -- this was one of the first papers i found about PMR that convinced me that i wasn't crazy when I said i felt like i was "glued into the bed " when i had a terrible flare up.
Also , until i was bumped up to 30 mg Prednisone , each morning was like Ground Hog Day for my shoulder stiffness. i have history of lumbar issues - while on Prednsione have had no complaints ( 30 mg tapered to 4.5 mg now, last May to now) IS your back pain NEW to you ?

@richardab are you saying that you have had several flares ? What was your inital dose of Prednsione - just curious . Are you considering trying Kevzara ? this Muller paper is also interesting in defining 5 classes of patients