The obturator internus muscle is an external rotator of the hip. Obturator internus injury may occur and be hidden by the piriformis syndrome. Clinical symptoms may offer some clues to the clinician. The selective injection technique described here facilitates precise diagnosis.

To assess the hypothesis if tocilizumab (TCZ) is effective on disease activity, and also its effect in fatigue and other clinical and psychological disease-related factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with TCZ. A 24-week, multicenter, prospective, observational study in patients with moderate to severe RA receiving TCZ after failure or intolerance to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or tumor necrosis factor-alpha was conducted. Of the 122 patients included, 85 were evaluable for effectiveness (85% female, 51.9 ± 12.5 years, disease duration 8.7 ± 7.4 years). Mean change in C-reactive protein level from baseline to week 12 was −11.2 ± 4.0 ( P < .001). Mean Disease Activity Index score (DAS28) decreased from 5.5 ± 1.0 at baseline to 2.7 ± 1.3 ( P < .001) at week 24. Mean change in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy score was −5.4 ± 11.2 points at week 24. Multiple regression analysis showed that the improvement in DAS28, sleep, and depression explained 56% and 47% of fatigue variance at week 12 and 24, respectively. Tocilizumab is effective in reducing disease activity and results in a clinically significant improvement in fatigue, pain, swollen joint count, morning stiffness, sleepiness, depression, and DAS28; the last 3 were specifically identified as factors explaining fatigue variance with the use of TCZ in RA patients.

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The quadratus femoris is an external rotator of the hip. Quadratus femoris injury can accompany damage to the surrounding muscles. Guided by the clinical symptoms, the injection technique described here can facilitate accurate diagnosis in selected cases.