What are some common Muscle Diseases?

There are many different muscle diseases that affect millions of people worldwide each year. Some of the more common muscle diseases include muscular dystrophy, insulin resistance, and myasthenia gravis. Each disease targets a different part of the muscle tissue, but what they all have in common is that they can lead to weakness of the muscle tissue.

Muscle Diseases

Muscle diseases are a group of conditions that affect your muscles, which are specialized cells found in your body. These cells contain protein filaments that move and slide past each other to create movement.

Muscle diseases are often called neuromuscular diseases. They can cause weakness, pain or even paralysis.

There are a lot of different muscle diseases, most of which can be grouped into common categories:

Muscle Diseases of the Muscles

A good place to start is with diseases that affect the muscles themselves. This can include things like:

  • Musculoskeletal pain,
  • Myasthenia gravis,
  • Muscular dystrophy.
Muscle Diseases of the Nerves

Sometimes the problem lies in the nerves that control those muscles instead. Nerve disorders include things like:

  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Myopathy.
Muscle Diseases of the Joints

Other times, it’s not so much the muscles or nerves as it is the joints that connect them. These are called joint disorders, and they include things like:

  • Arthritis,
  • Osteoporosis
  • Arthritis of the fingers or hands.

Muscle Problems

There are many types of muscle diseases. They can affect the way your muscles work and how they look. Some muscle problems are inherited. Others can be caused by injuries or infections.

  • Still’s a disease, a form of juvenile arthritis that can cause muscle pain and weakness.
  • A muscular dystrophy is a group of genetic diseases that make muscles weaker over time.
  • Polymyositis causes muscle weakness in your arms and legs.
  • Dermatomyositis is a rare disease that weakens muscles and causes a skin rash.
  • Muscle cramps are sudden, tight contractions that occur in one or more muscles when they’re not being used. Muscle cramps often result from overuse or dehydration, but there may be an underlying medical condition involved as well.