You may sometimes end up in a wheelchair with myositis, although it depends on the specific type of myositis that you have.
Most people that have inflammatory myositis (like polymyositis or dermatomyositis) respond well to treatments and maintain mobility, whereas people with inclusion-body myositis (IBM) often progresses to needing a wheelchair or mobility aid over time.
Inclusion Body Myositis is a slowly progressive and degenerative muscle disease and it's highly common for people with Inclusion Body Myositis to require a wheelchair, cane or a walker within 10 years to 15 years from the onset of the symptoms.
And unlike other types of myositis, Inclusion Body Myositis does not respond well to standard immunosuppressant drugs or corticosteroids.
Although people with Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis do not usually end of up in a wheelchair as they often respond well to early medical treatments like biologic therapies, immune suppressants and steroids, which allows many people to maintain a relatively active lifestyle.
Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis are inflammatory diseases that cause muscle weakness, often near your trunk of the body, like your hips and shoulders.
The way myositis affects your daily life is by decreasing your mobility and increasing your fall risk and causing issues with upper body and fine motor skills as well as affecting your eating and breathing and reducing your energy levels.
Intense fatigue and brain fog when you have myositis can make it difficult for you to sustain concentration, plan daily activities or even work a full time job.
With myositis it can result in dysphagia, which are swallowing difficulties and shortness of breath, which can also occur and even severely impact your meal times and require changes to your diet, preparation or even eating habits.
Myositis can also lead to weakened shoulder and arm muscles that also make it hard to perform overhead tasks, like reaching high shelves, washing your hair or hanging up coats.
And depending on the type of myositis that you have, you might also experience difficulty with hand grip, opening jars and even writing.
Also the weakened thigh and hip muscles from myositis make it difficult for you to climb stairs, get up from chairs or even get out of a car.
Foot drop is common in myositis and is when you have difficulty in lifting your front foot, which frequently leads to tripping and falls.
Living with myositis, requires that you have ongoing management and treatment of the symptoms like frequent physical therapy, and sometimes adaptive home tools.
People who usually get myositis are adults that are between the ages of 45 to 64 as well as children.
Although it can also depend heavily on the specific type of myositis that a person develops.
The main types of myositis, which can affect different groups in distinct ways include.
Viral Myositis, which is a temporary form of muscle inflammation that is common in children and teens.
Viral myositis is typically triggered shortly after recovering from a viral illness, such as the flu or the common cold.
Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM) is the myositis form that is the most prevalent type in older adults. Unlike the other forms, IBM predominantly affects men over the age of 50.
Polymyositis & Dermatomyositis are the most common types of inflammatory myopathies.
Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis affect women twice as often as men. While they can occur at any age, adults are typically diagnosed between ages 40 and 60, and children between ages 5 and 15.
The first signs of myositis are muscle weakness in your hips and shoulders, unusual fatigue and visibly distinctive skin rashes in certain types of myositis.
Myositis is a group of rare inflammatory muscle disease and the symptoms of myositis are usually subtle and develop slowly.
Muscle weakness is the hallmark symptom of myositis.
Because myositis affects the larger muscles close to the center of the body, which is your proximal muscles, you may first notice the muscle weakness during everyday activities.
Due to the muscle weakness in myositis it can lead to mobility issues, upper body issues and balance issues.
People with myositis often trip more often and have trouble catching themselves if they fall.
Myositis can also cause you to have trouble lifting objects overhead, washing or blow drying your hair or even reaching for high shelves.
And the muscle weakness with myositis can also cause difficulty in climbing stairs, standing up from a low chair or getting out of a car or other vehicle.
Other signs of myositis include extreme tiredness and muscle pain per myalgia.
A persistent lack of energy even after getting proper rest is also common in myositis and you may even feel suddenly exhausted after a short walk or even just standing for a few minutes.
And the myalgia can result in persistent muscle pain, soreness and or tenderness in the affected muscles, which is often also accompanied by stiffness.
When you have a specific type of myositis called dermatomyositis, an obvious rash is often the very first sign.
The rash can appear as a red or purple, patchy rash on your eyelids, face, knuckles, elbows or knees and scaly patches, sometimes called Gottron Papules can appear on the hands.
And you may have a shawl like redness over your shoulders and your upper chest.
Other early or accompanying signs of myositis include, difficulty swallowing, which can occasionally be the initial presenting symptom and breathing changes like a persistent dry cough, shortness of breath or hoarse voice.