Myopathy

Myopathy is a muscular disease which occurs when the muscle fibers are not capable of functioning properly. There are a variety of reasons that could cause this to occur and as a result it will lead to a weak muscular system. This is a muscle disease which occurs primarily in the muscles and not the nerves or any other section of your body. There are a variety of muscle issues that are considered similar such as muscle cramps, muscle spasms, and muscle stiffness.

Identifying a Muscular Disease
There are three different types of myopathies and they are: muscular dystrophies, periodic paralysis, and congenital myopathies. These are all different forms of myopathy which are caused by a genetic defect which occurs when there is an error in the person’s DNA make up. Instead of going into detail of how each of the myopathies can come about, lets just cover the symptoms of these muscular diseases and how you should go about treating them.

First off, the symptoms from myopathy will vary depending on which form of myopathy you have. However, there are a few symptoms that are common enough between all the types that they are worth mentioning. This would include frequent muscle aches, cramps, stiffness, tightness, pain, and tenderness. There are still other symptoms of myopathy but those are the most common ones.

When a muscular disease is in early development there may be some other signs that you could notice as well. However, these signs do not strictly suggest that it is a type of myopathy but it still helps you with self-diagnosis. Many people notice fatigue from light exercise (such as walking or going up or down stairs) when the myopathy is starting to develop. This is usually attributed to the fact that the pelvic and leg muscles have weakened dramatically. Some people also state that they had difficulties standing up after in sitting position when in the early stages of myopathy.

Myopathy Treatments
The best treatment method may vary depending on which form of myopathy you are diagnosed with. However, no matter the type of myopathy you suffer from, generally the treatment method has the same goals. Mainly, you are looking to decrease the speed that the muscular disease develops by using various forms of myopathy treatment.

While there are a few different options to treat myopathies, it seems that prescription drugs may be your best choice. Just make sure that you do not get prescribed to any drugs that have addictive tendencies as you do not want to be dependent on the medication for the rest of your life.

You will also want to do a few other things to help naturally treat the myopathy such as start dieting to lose weight. If you decrease your body weight then your muscles will be required to do less work so there is less strain. Even though you may want to get regular exercise to help lose weight you will still want to make sure that you never over work the muscles as it could just worsen your condition and cause major pain.

There are other issues that could occur as a result of myopathies such as having difficulties breathing. You may want to look for ways to treat the side effects of myopathy so they do not cause any serious problems.

No matter what, it is absolutely essential that you visit your doctor for advice. If you have a serious enough condition then you may need surgery in order to treat it properly but that is only for the most severe cases. Speak with your doctor immediately as you will have a much higher chance of treating the myopathy and preventing it from developing into a much more painful condition.

Last updated on Feb 26th, 2010 and filed under Musculoskeletal Disorders. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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