What Is Inflammatory Muscle Disease?
Inflammatory muscle disease is a group of muscle diseases where there is inflammation that ultimately results in muscle damage. Many of these conditions are considered to be autoimmune diseases which means that one’s own immune system “attacks” the muscles, thereby causing muscle and weakness. Examples of these diseases include dermatomyositis which is an autoimmune muscle disease that is associated with both muscle weakness, skin changes and rashes. Necrotizing myopathies are another example and can be associated with exposure to certain cholesterol medications. A number of other autoimmune myositides exist and can overlap with rheumatological diseases. Inflammatory muscle diseases can be treated with a variety of medications that suppress or change the immune system to prevent further the autoimmune attack on the muscles.Another type of inflammatory muscle disease includes inclusion body myositis (IBM). This condition causes muscle degeneration and inflammation and tends to affect the thigh muscles and handgrip muscles early in the disease. There are no known treatments for this condition yet, but physical therapy can help improve daily function.