Chronic muscle inflammation in conventional medicine

A general term for inflammation of the muscles in conventional medicine is myositis. Myositis is a connective tissue and autoimmune disease. The body’s own immune system makes proteins called “antibodies” for protection against viruses, bacteria and other foreign bodies. In myositis the immune system is unable to tell the difference between foreign bodies and its own cells and tissues. The immune system makes “auto-antibodies” directed against its own cells and tissues. The build up of these “auto-antibodies” in the tissues causes inflammation, pain and muscle damage.

Myositis includes Polymyositis, Dermatomyositis, Inclusion Body Myositis, Juvenile Myositis and Toxic Myositis. In all of these conditions, the voluntary muscles undergo degenerative changes due to inflammation. The main symptom is muscular weakness that may be progressive and can be severely disabling, affecting in the majority of cases the whole body. The large muscles about the hips and shoulders are usually the first to be affected. The weakness results in difficulty in walking, lifting arms and getting up from the sitting and lying down positions. There may even be some trouble in swallowing and the voice may become nasal in quality. Other muscles sometimes affected are those in the neck making it difficult to raise the head when lying down. The disease can be accompanied by depression and a general feeling of tiredness and fatigue.

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