Myositis, like every other disease brings not only negative emotional sufferings
but also significantly undermine the health of its carrier. This disease is
not widespread. What happens to the organism is that “the immune system
chronically inflames the muscle tissue of the body”. The inflammation
does not only touch the muscles fibers but also the skin of the sick person.
Myositis may include such illnesses as: polymyositis, dermatomyositis and inclusion
body myositis. Polymyositis is the stage of muscle inflammation and the stage
when myositis starts attacking the skin is called dermatomyositis. The major
problem concerning myositis is the difficulty to determine the irritant triggering
such behavior and harmful reaction of the immune system in each individual situation.
If the inflammation happens over and over the muscles of the body lose their
tonus. They become weak, making it very hard to move the parts of the body.
It is not a disease that appears suddenly. The development of the disease is
rather slow and that it why the symptoms do not start to disturb on early phases.
Myositis is suffered by the age categories starting from childhood, between
the ages of 5 and 15 and strikes adults between the ages of 30 and 60. There
are also no gender peculiarities, as it touches both men and women.
The cause of myositis and its symptoms.
Generally speaking myositis is the result of abnormal immune responses on healthy
body tissues, which is exactly what a normal body does in order to fight an
illness. The cause of the disease cannot be determined yet. As myositis attacks
muscle fibers the first symptom of this disease is muscular weakness. This muscular
weakness and sometimes pain usually have places of concentration: shoulders
and hips. The early period of myositis with these places of pain concentration
is characterized by troubles to rise from a chair, to lift and arm and even
going upstairs. The organism stands walking a lot by a narrow margin, because
it makes the muscle pain very strong. The patient may experience breath troubles
due to the possibility of myositis to spread to the muscles in the front of
the neck and throat and of lungs and chest. A person with myositis is usually
unable to stand for a long time. Muscle swelling is also a symptom of the disease.
The process of the disease progression is usually accompanied by fever. The
progress of the weakness and pain later spreads from the hips and shoulders
and attacks the whole body and the patients may even need a wheel-chair in order
to be able to move around.
Diagnosing myositis.
As it has been mention the cause of myositis is very hard to determine. Hypothyroidism,
toxin exposure, drug reactions and genetic disorders are among the possible
reasons of the abnormal reaction of the immune system. The diagnosis of myositis
includes the analysis of the medical history with all the symptoms the patients
has every experienced. There are some tests that came it easier to determine
myositis. They are: creatine kinase, various blood tests and taking an electromyogram.
Along with the blood test, the measurement of muscle patters muscle biopsy is
usually also required to pass. Muscle biopsy analyzes in what way exactly the
fibers are destroyed through a little piece of a muscle taken from the body.
The exact area of the muscular inflammation is calculated with the help of magnetic
resonance imaging.
Possible treatment of myositis.
Unfortunately, there is no way to cure myositis. The only way to help a person
suffering from myositis is to weaken the inflammation attacks on the body’s
muscles. Nevertheless part or almost complete remission may be achieved. Various
drugs usually suppress the disease, though these drugs sometimes have side effects.
These drugs are called immunosuppresants. The most common medicament treatments
in association with myositis are corticosteroids. They are used to maintain
the immune system on the same level not letting it damage its own organism.
There are also some medicaments as aspirin or ibuprofen, which are used for
snap action relief.Both of them belong to the group of medicaments called NSAIDS
(nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Aside from the medical treatment another
important part of the myositis treatment is physical exercising along with massaging
the “weal areas” with warming them up. Physiotherapy is often used
as a possibility to keep the patients of feet, constantly moving and able to
live a full-fledged life. The last but no the least component of myositis treatment
is rest. A person with myositis must not overload himself with any kind of activity
and take enough time to keep the body vigorous.
Conclusion. Life with myositis is a constant fight for the ability to move.
It is a struggle that takes away a lot of forces, but still the result may be
rather close to a “normal life of a healthy person” if the right
medical treatment is obtained.
Bibliography:
1. Kilpatrick, James R. “Coping with a Myositis Disease” /Kilpatrick Publishing Company /2000.
2. Icon Health Publications “Myositis: A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography”…/ Icon Health Publications / 2004.
3. http://www.myositis.org/about_myositis/faq_general.cfm
Myositis
