Myositis is a condition where multiple muscle disorders are identified and categorised as muscle inflammation or weakness. There are many causes to trigger Myositis, such as autoimmune, muscle inflammation, or infections. The autoimmune condition enables our body's immune system to mistakenly attack the healthy tissues of the muscle.
This medical condition is not restrictive to any age group, as it can happen to all, and is more common in women than men. In short, it is a chronic and progressive inflammatory condition of the muscles. In some cases, exercise and medication are enough to overcome the myositis condition. But still, looking for the right myositis treatment might demand you to take an expert's suggestions.
To help you know more about this condition and how it is treated, this article is curated with factual details.
What are the Types of Myositis?
There are basically five types of Myositis that might affect you, which include:
Dermatomyositis
Dermatomyositis is considered one of the easiest forms of Myositis that doctors can diagnose, as the symptoms of it include purple-red rashes. These rashes are formed around the chest, back, neck, face and eyelids. Moreover, it also forms around the joints, such as knees, toes, elbows, and knuckles. Muscle weakness is the symptom that follows the rashes.
Inclusion-body Myositis (IBM)
IBM is considered one of the only Myositis that occurs mostly in men rather than women. This condition is mostly diagnosed in men above 50 years of age, and it begins with muscle weakness around fingers and wrists, as the prime symptom. Later, this pain moves towards the thigh muscles as well. The muscle weakness in this condition mostly targets the smaller muscles, with one side of the body being affected more than the other.
Juvenile Myositis
Juvenile Myositis, as the name suggests, occurs in children under the age of 18. Girls are more likely to develop this condition than boys. Just like any of the other Myositis, JM is characterised by skin rashes and muscle weakness. If you see your kid being too moody and experiencing frequent stomach aches, it might be a sign of juvenile Myositis.
Toxic Myositis
Toxic Myositis is a condition that gets triggered in your body due to certain medications or drugs. For instance, any cholesterol-lowering medication that is being used as regular drugs might trigger this condition. It is an extremely rare type of Myositis.
Polymyositis
Polymyositis begins from the weakening of the muscle, which arises close to the trunk of your body and then expands from the site. Every case of polymyositis is unique, and autoimmune diseases are specified as the root cause of this issue to occur. If you are experiencing chronic dry cough or thickening of the skin around the hands, it might be polymyositis.
What are the Symptoms of Myositis?
You need to know when Myositis hits you to get your condition diagnosed and then identify the type. Therefore, here are some symptoms of myositis that you must be aware of to realise the condition and take immediate action:
- Muscle Weakness: Hips, shoulders or thighs are the common muscle parts that will start to experience weakness and pain for the start of the effects.
- Muscle Pain & Tenderness: The patients might just experience pain and soreness, which will be intermittent or persistent and will make normal mobility difficult.
- Skin Rashes: Dermatomyositis is the type that triggers the symptoms of distinctive rashes on the chest, face, and other parts of the body.
- Swallowing Difficulty: Due to the muscle weakness triggered by Myositis, dysphagia can occur, which will make it troublesome for you to swallow food.
What are the Causes of Myositis?
There is no exact cause being defined for Myositis, but people believe it is mostly due to an autoimmune disorder. In this, your immune system mistakenly attacks the healthy tissues of the body, causing some severe problems. Some of the other possible causes of Myositis are:
- Environmental trigger: UV radiations or pollution do contribute towards triggering the myositis symptoms.
- Medications: Some gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neurologic, and other such medications, when consumed beyond the prescribed dosage, can lead to myositis condition.
- Genetic predisposition: Some doctors and scientists have given research verdicts that genetics can also be responsible for causing Myositis.
How to Diagnose the Myositis Condition?
There are a few ways that medical experts avail in order to help with myositis diagnosis in patients, which include:
- Physical Examination: The first approach for a medical expert is to assess the muscle weakness, rashes and other such symptoms physically. This is because some symptoms might have certain variations that indicate a different medical condition. In most cases, physical examination is often paired with blood tests.
- Blood Tests: Blood tests are done for the levels of muscle enzymes, inflammatory markers, and autoantibodies, which are ideal for diagnosing the type of Myositis you have developed.
- Muscle Biopsy: Doctors will take a small part of the affected muscle tissue to examine it for inflammation or other abnormalities.
- Electromyography or EMG: With this test, the doctors will measure the electrical activities of the affected muscles and then specify the extent of damage encountered by them.
What are Some of the Treatment Options for You to Recover from Myositis Condition?
Treating Myositis is often approached with the initiative of controlling or regulating inflammation levels or relieving the symptoms. Following that, doctors will also provide you with medications for improving your muscle strength. Some of the treatment options that most doctors adopt are:
- Corticosteroids: It is often the first type of treatment that is preferred, as it helps you reduce muscle damage and inflammation.
- Physical Therapy: We provide you with customised exercise programs which will help improve muscle function and strength.
- Immunomodulatory Drugs: For most patients, doctors advise consuming immunosuppressive medications to control the body's autoimmune response.
- Supportive Care: Doctors will also recommend symptomatic treatment and certain modifications for the lifestyle, which will enhance your overall life quality, and will suppress the quality of your life.
There is no direct medication or cure for Myositis, and you will be provided with medications to eradicate the symptoms or any possible underlying cause separately.
Also Read: Muscle Pain – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Medicine
Conclusion
Remember, Myositis is a very complex, debilitating, and rare condition that requires timely diagnosis and proper management efforts. Upon witnessing the symptoms, you should make no delays in booking your doctor's appointment! The earlier doctors identify the type of Myositis you have developed, the easier it will be for them to manage or suppress the effects. Delaying it will only make the condition worse!
If you have been noticing any specific myositis symptoms lately, do not waste a minute further and book your appointment at Agilus Diagnostics. We have the right tools and expertise to run blood and other prescribed tests to check your myositis probability. To learn more about our specific service approach, get in touch with our team today!
Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Limited
