Myositis (my-o-SY-tis) is a rare type of autoimmune disease that inflames and weakens muscle fibers. Autoimmune diseases occur when the body's own immune system attacks itself. In the case of myositis, the immune system attacks healthy muscle tissue, which results in inflammation, swelling, pain, and eventual weakness.
Muscular dystrophy. Myasthenia gravis. Myopathy. Myositis, including polymyositis and dermatomyositis.
Viruses or bacteria may invade muscle tissue directly, or release substances that damage muscle fibers. Common cold and flu viruses, as well as HIV, are just a few of the viruses that can cause myositis.
Autoimmune disorders that specifically affect the muscles, joints, and nerves include rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Polymyalgia rheumatica, which also involves the joints, is thought to be an autoimmune condition, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy neuromuscular connections. This causes problems with communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles.
Many people described the pain of lupus as similar to having the flu. This means having chills and bone-weary aches throughout your entire body. The pain can be numbing and leave you feeling drained of all energy. “I explain it to others as feeling like the flu: achy joints, muscles, bones.”
What is muscular dystrophy? Muscular dystrophy (MD) refers to a group of more than 30 genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness and degeneration of skeletal muscles used during voluntary movement. These disorders vary in age of onset, severity, and pattern of affected muscles.
Among metabolic myopathies that can mimic myositis are disorders of carbohydrate metabolism such as McArdle's disease, 6-phosphofructokinase deficiency, and Pompe's disease (adult acid maltase deficiency); disorders of lipid metabolism such as carnitine deficiency and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 (CPT2) deficiency; ...
Muscular dystrophy is a group of inherited diseases characterized by weakness and wasting away of muscle tissue, with or without the breakdown of nerve tissue. There are 9 types of muscular dystrophy, with each type involving an eventual loss of strength, increasing disability, and possible deformity.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are blood tests that can be used to check the levels of inflammation in your body.
CT scan – where a series of X-rays are taken to create a detailed image of the inside of your body, which will reveal any muscle damage.
Without movement or exercise, the muscles are weakened and deprived of a steady supply of blood, oxygen and nutrients. This, in turn, can lead to muscle pain.
Leg Pain Could Indicate Vein or Artery Disease
Often, leg pain is misdiagnosed as simply muscle aches or arthritis. The reality is leg pain and cramps may be signs of a more serious underlying disease; therefore, you should discuss your leg challenges with a vascular specialist.
After a careful history and physical exam to document the pattern of weakness in muscles, a doctor who suspects myositis likely will order a blood test to check the level of creatine kinase (CK), an enzyme that leaks out of muscle fibers when the fibers are being damaged. In PM, the CK level is usually very high.
Myositis autoantibodies are an important diagnostic and predictive tool. They are identified through a special blood test that tests for a whole panel of autoantibodies that are related to myositis diseases.
Anything that causes swelling in the muscles – including injury, vigorous exercise, infection or exposure to some viruses (the common cold and flu) – can trigger myositis. Certain medications (such as statins) and illegal drugs (like cocaine) can cause myositis, too.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of muscle disease may include muscular weakness, rigidity, loss of muscular control, numbness, tingling, twitching, spasms, muscle pain and certain types of limb pain.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain in muscles and soft tissues all over the body. It is an ongoing (chronic) condition. It can affect your neck, shoulders, back, chest, hips, buttocks, arms, and legs. The pain may be worse in the morning and evening.
Lupus symptoms include: Muscle and joint pain. You may experience pain and stiffness, with or without swelling. This affects most people with lupus.
Joint and muscle pain are common in both conditions. But people with lupus often have stiffness and swelling in their joints. It can be hard for people with this condition to move. In people with fibromyalgia, on the other hand, the joints move normally and aren't swollen.