Muscular System Diseases

Muscular system diseases affect the normal working of the muscles in the body. The list of diseases
covered in the following article, will help you learn about the different types of disorders that cause
weakness and a wasting away of muscle tissue.
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Muscles are a very important part of our body. Without the muscles, the body will lose its ability to
move and carry out various actions. In fact, without the human muscular system, we probably
wouldn't be able to survive. This is because most of the organs in the digestive system are made up of
muscles, where even our hearts that keep pumping blood, is a muscle in itself. If the muscular system
is affected by any disease or disorder, it leads to many minor and in some cases, major health
problems. Not only do the disorders affect mobility, but also cause many other functional problems.

Diseases of the Muscular System

There are about 650 muscles in the human muscular system. Each muscle has a specific role to
perform. These muscles help us talk, walk, sit, run, eat, hold things, and most importantly, help in the
continuous pumping of the heart. Muscular system diseases cause many problems in the human body,
that affect the mobility and functioning of its various organs.

Muscular Dystrophy
This is a genetic disease of a group of inherited muscle disease that cause damage to muscle fibers.
The symptoms of muscular dystrophy disease include weakness, loss of mobility and lack of
coordination. The most common diseases classified as muscular dystrophy are Duchenne, Becker, limb
girdle, congenital, facioscapulohumeral, myotonic, oculopharyngeal, distal, and Emery-Dreifuss. The
basic fact about muscular dystrophy is that there is no specific cure for muscular dystrophy.

Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy is one of the diseases that affects the muscular system, where a persons posture,
balance and motor functions are affected. Brain damage during or before childbirth causes loss of
muscle tone, causing problems carrying out physical tasks in children. It is one of the most common
congenital disorders.

Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
This is a very rare congenital disorder that causes the soft tissues to become hard like bones
permanently. This causes the muscles, tendons, ligaments as well as other connective tissues to grow
bones between the joints. Thus, leading to permanent restriction of movement. There is no effective
Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) treatment and pain is controlled using medications.

Dermatomyositis
The inflammatory myopathy that leads to chronic muscle and skin inflammation is called
dermatomyositis. This is a progressive autoimmune disease of the connective tissues that causes
muscle weakness. The dermatomyositis symptoms include muscle pain, hardened calcium deposits
under the skin, gastrointestinal ulcers, intestinal perforations, lung problems, fever, fatigue and
weight loss. It leads to a red or violet colored skin rash on the face, hands, knees, chest and back.
There is no cure for this progressive muscle weakness but can be controlled using corticosteroids and
immunosuppressive drugs.

Compartment Syndrome
Chronic compartment syndrome caused by compression of the blood vessels, nerves and muscles
within a closed area of the body. This causes tissue death due to lack of oxygen. The compartment
syndrome symptoms include severe muscle pain, feeling of tightness in muscles, paresthesia,
paralysis, etc. Treatment involves immediate surgical treatment, called fasicotomy. This helps in
relieving the pressure on the muscles and helping them become normal again.

Myasthenia Gravis
Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by muscle weakness and fatigue.
There is a breakdown of the neuromuscular junction and thus, brain loses control over these muscles.
The myasthenia gravis symptoms and signs include drooping eyelids, difficulty swallowing, muscle
fatigue, breathing difficulty, inability to control facial expressions, etc. Medications and surgical
intervention are a part of myasthenia gravis treatment.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a serious neurodegenerative disease. This disease is also known as the
Lou Gehrig's disease. In this disease, the motor neurons destroy that leads to loss of control over
voluntary muscle movement. The early symptoms of ALS include difficulty to swallow, breath and
speak. Paralysis is an advanced Lou Gehrig's disease symptom.

Mitochondrial Myopathies
Mitochondrial myopathies is a condition where the mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells, is damaged.
The symptoms of this neuromuscular disease include muscle weakness, heart rhythm abnormalities,
deafness, blindness and heart failure. In some cases, it leads to seizures, dementia, drooping eyelids
and vomiting. Other symptoms include breathing difficulty, nausea and headache.

Rhabdomyolysis
Rhabdomyolysis is a condition where there is rapid skeletal muscle destruction. This causes the
muscle fibers to breakdown into myoglobin that is released into the urine. This leads to kidney failure
as myoglobin is dangerous to the kidney. Rhabdomyolysis symptoms include muscle weakness,
stiffness, and pain. If detected early, there is a possibility of rhabdomyolysis treatment. Treatment
includes use of intravenous fluid, dialysis as well as hemofiltration in severe cases.

Polymyositis
Polymyositis is an inflammatory and degenerative muscular system disease. This is a systemic
connective tissue disease that causes symmetric weakness and muscle atrophy to some extent.

Fibromyalgia
The debilitating, chronic muscle disorder is called fibromyalgia. It is characterized by pain, fatigue and
many other symptoms like tenderness and stiffness of the muscles. It is seen affecting more women
than men and is thought to be a genetic condition.

Myotonia
Myotonia is a condition where the muscles relax slowly after contraction and stimulation. The
symptoms of myotonia include trouble while releasing a grip, walking and difficulty in getting up after
sitting or sleeping. Medications, anticonvulsants and physical therapy is involved in treatment of
myotonia.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Myofascial pain syndrome is a chronic muscle pain disorder. It is characterized by aches, pain and
burning sensation around sensitive points of the muscles called the trigger points. One may also feel
joint stiffness, area of tension like a knot and sleep problems due to severe pain. Use of
corticosteroids, botulism toxin injections, massage therapy and physical therapy help in management
of myofascial pain syndrome.

A Few Other Diseases of the Muscular System
There are a few other neuromuscular system diseases that may affect people. Some of these
neuromuscular diseases are categorized according to their site of origin.

Congenital Muscular Diseases
Central core disease
Centronuclear myopathy
Congenital fiber type disproportion myopathy
Nemaline myopathy
Multominicore disease
Myotubular myopathy
Autophagic vacuolar myopathy
Zebra body myopathy
Cap disease
Hyaline body myopathy
Neuromuscular Junction Diseases
Lambert-Eaton Syndrome
Myasthenia Gravis
Piriformis Syndrome
Peripheral Nerve Diseases
Charcot-Marie Tooth Disease
DeJerine-Sottas Disease
Friedreich's Ataxis
Spinal Muscular Atropies
Infantile Progressive Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Intermediate Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Juvenile Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Adult Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Metabolic Diseases of the Muscular System
Acid Maltase Deficiency
Carnitine Palmityl Transferase Deficiency
Myoadenylate Deaminase Deficiency
Debrancher Enzyme Deficiency
Phosphoglycerate Kinase Deficiency
Rare Muscular System Diseases
Central Core Disease
Hyperthyroid Myopathy
Periodic Paralysis - Hypokalemic - Hyperkalemic
Myotubular Myopathy
Nemaline Myopathy
Myotonia Congenita
Paramyotonia Congenita
These were some of the diseases of the muscular system. These diseases can cause many debilitating
conditions that reduce productivity and limit mobility. It is important to seek early medical help to
control the diseases before the progress. Hope the above article has helped you learn all