Get to know all about muscle strain and myositis! Causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment

Myositis is an inflammatory condition that occurs in muscles or muscle tissues. It may result from muscle strain injuries, illnesses, or abnormal conditions that cause inflammation. Moreover, there are various causes and factors that lead to this disease such as muscle strain and myositis ossificans.
Myositis symptoms include weakness and pain in a muscle bundle or a limb, especially in areas that are regularly used or mobilized, such as calf muscles or thigh muscles which are used for walking. When inflammation increases, symptoms may include muscle ache along with swelling, redness, or warmth.
Myositis diagnoses involve physical examination and blood tests. In some cases, the doctors may additionally require electromyography (EMG) testing by inserting small needles through the patient’s skin to test the activities of the nervous system and muscles, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or muscle biopsy.
Treating myositis at kdms Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, patients will have medical experts specializing in bone, joint, and muscle conditions accurately diagnose their symptoms and plan precise treatments, along with follow-ups until returning to normal life.

Have you ever experienced pain in the muscle that sometimes hinders you in living life or doing activities to your fullest? Many people may not realize that these symptoms could be warning signs leading to myositis. If the disease is left untreated for too long, it could eventually harm your health. Therefore, this article will provide guidance and answer all questions about myositis, from its symptoms to treatments for myositis, to help you understand better about it.

What are the causes of myositis?

Myositis is an inflammatory condition that occurs in muscles or muscle tissues. It may result from muscle strain injuries, illnesses, or abnormal conditions that cause inflammation. Patients with underlying diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly known as SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, and other related diseases can especially develop myositis as well. Additionally, there are various causes and factors that lead to this disease as follows:

Muscle inflammation

Nowadays, there is no clear evidence what causes myositis. It may result from inflammation in the muscle by itself, infections, certain medications, or muscle strain injuries. These factors contribute to pain in a muscle or muscle bundles that are inflamed, causing muscle ache during movement or tenderness when pressed on them, as well as weakness in those muscle bundles.

Muscle Strain

Myositis definitely occurs in those who experience muscle strain because inflammation is considered a normal process of body repair. The causes of these injuries include direct damage to the muscle, such as being hit or constricted, and indirect damage, such as tears of muscle tissues from rapid muscle contractions during various activities, especially exercise.

Additionally, muscle strain may be caused by repetitive injuries from repeated use of that body part, causing small, cumulative injuries (repetitive microtrauma).

Myositis ossificans

Myositis ossificans is a condition involving muscle inflammation that abnormally stimulates the body to accumulate calcium deposits in the muscle itself. It commonly occurs after severe muscle strain injuries. In some patients, it may result from abnormal brain functions on calcium formation, as found in stroke patients or those with previous brain injuries.

This condition causes muscles to lose their ability to contract and relax, leading to loss of their flexibility. It may cause calcium deposits in muscles, resulting in patients having muscle ache from inflammation, inability to fully use the affected muscle, or palpable masses in the muscle bundle.

What are the myositis symptoms?

Myositis can be found in people of all ages and genders, especially in the elderly whose muscle flexibility is lost and muscle mass is decreased. That’s because these factors may increase the chances of injury or muscle inflammation. Myositis symptoms include:

Pain in a muscle bundle or a limb, especially in areas that are regularly used or mobilized, including calf muscles or thigh muscles which are used for walking, arm muscles which are used for wrist movement, or back muscles which are used to support the torso in daily activities, etc.
Limited movement or weakness in inflamed muscles, or muscle fatigue which occurs more easily than normal in areas with pathological conditions
When inflammation increases, symptoms may include muscle ache along with swelling, redness, or warmth. In this case, medical consultation is required as they may result from tissue or muscle infection in that area.

Myositis diagnoses

Although myositis causes pain in the muscle and other accompanying symptoms, diagnoses are still required to ensure that the patients experience myositis for appropriate treatment. Diagnoses can be done through various methods as follows:

Physical examination

have a checkup and the medical history taken to help with preliminary diagnosis. If myositis is suspected while the symptoms are non-severe and do not show the signs of inflammation, the doctor may consider prescribing medication and do follow-ups.

Blood tests

Blood tests help check indirectly if inflammation is occurring in the body or muscles. This diagnosis is performed through non-complex methods by having nurses or medical staff draw blood from the patient’s veins and send it for laboratory testing. Common tests include:

Complete Blood Count (CBC): to check the amount of white blood cells in the body
Creatine Phosphokinase (CPK) muscle enzyme test: this figure will soar in conditions with muscle breakdown
Erythrocyte Sediment Rate (ESR) blood test: to indicate body inflammation through increasing red blood cell sedimentation
C-reactive Protein (CRP) test: to confirm inflammation, infection, or tissue damages in the body
Blood culture: may be additionally considered if infection is suspected
Blood tests for autoimmune diseases: further blood tests including antinuclear antibody (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides (Anti-CCP), or HLA-B27 may be considered if myositis from autoimmune diseases is suspected, such as rheumatoid arthritis, SLE/Lupus

EMG testing

In some cases, electromyography (EMG) testing may be applied to diagnose myositis. The small needles are used to insert through the patient’s skin to test the activities of the nervous system and muscles, from muscle contraction to its response, if abnormal functions are detected. This EMG testing is performed by specialized doctors in rehabilitation medicine.

MRI

MRI or magnetic resonance imaging is an effective test to visualize the structure of various tissues and abnormalities that occur inside the patient’s body, including inflammation, tears, injuries, masses, as well as impacts to surrounding tissues. This imaging technology is highly accurate and safe to use.

Muscle biopsy

Additional muscle biopsy is commonly done when the disease is difficult to be indicated and detailed muscle tissue examination is needed to confirm diagnosis or plan treatment. Tissue cutting may use open surgical methods (open biopsy) or minimal muscle collecting devices (percutaneous needle biopsy) depending on the size of tissue needed for additional testing. This examination requires medical experts for tissue collection, along with pathologists for staining and result interpretation.

Prevention and treatment methods for myositis

Many people may be worried whether myositis can be treated and what myositis treatment approaches are available. In fact, the treatment methods are not as complicated as you might think, and consultation with medical specialists is possible to choose the most appropriate treatment method for each patient.

Avoiding risk behaviors

Excessive use of muscles is a cause of myositis, especially in those with repetitive microtrauma. Therefore, it’s recommended that patients avoid various risk behaviors, stop repeated use of that body part, and prepare their body before sports or activities. For example, muscle stretching before activities can increase flexibility and reduce chances of injury that may occur, regular and appropriate muscle strength training can increase muscle strength and endurance, and so on.

Sometimes myositis may result from taking certain medications, such as some lipid-lowering drugs. If such risks exist, medical consultation may be necessary to confirm and adjust medication.

First aid

If patients have muscle strain injuries and mild inflammation, they can implement first aid to relieve symptoms by themselves. This includes cold compress to reduce pain and swelling in the first 48 hours after injury, and hot compress to increase blood circulation after the first 3-5 days of injury have passed.

Limiting movements or resting the injured muscle is also important in the initial injury period.

In cases that injury involves muscle tears with indications, doctors may sometimes consider soft casts, rigid casts, or supportive materials for the limb.

Medication

Oral medication, especially non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), for myositis can help reduce inflammation and pain in the muscle. Consideration to use this method should be at the doctor’s discretion.

Physical therapy

Myositis symptoms such as pain and inflammation can be relieved through physical therapy alongside other treatment methods. Physical therapy can help reduce inflammation, increase blood circulation, as well as rehabilitate injured and inflamed muscles or tissues, allowing patients to return to normal life and use muscles at their fullest.

Physical therapy includes stretching exercises to extend and strengthen muscles. There are also various tools such as ultrasonic waves or electrical stimulation used to reduce inflammation or stimulate muscles with pathological conditions.

What are the perks of treating myositis at kdms Hospital?

Treating myositis at kdms Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, patients will meet medical experts specializing in bone, joint, and muscle conditions. With accurate and rapid diagnosis, precise treatments, along with follow-ups and treatment plan adjustments when needed, patients can rest assured that they will return to good life.

Frequently asked questions about myositis

Myositis requires appropriate examination and treatment, especially identification of its cause. It’s necessary for patients to receive treatments for those specific causes as well. If you have pain in the muscle and suspect myositis, especially if the symptoms persist longer than 4-6 weeks, diagnosis will be necessary to detect silent diseases or prevent potential complications. The severity of myositis that will affect other body systems depends on the cause of the myositis itself.

Is office syndrome the same disease as myositis?

Office syndrome is a condition in which the patients repeatedly use some organs in their work, especially neck, shoulder, and back muscles, leading to muscle ache, tightness, or tension. These symptoms are commonly found in current white-collar work styles that require computer use.

Many times, office syndrome patients are diagnosed with chronic myositis. In fact, office syndrome doesn’t result from muscle inflammation, but rather from muscle tension, contraction, or tightness. Therefore, treatments for office syndrome focus on changing work behaviors, muscle stretching, and muscle strengthening training, while myositis requires identification and treatments for its cause.

Myositis is considered one of the commonly found diseases whether in patients with muscle strain, certain medications or substances, diseases that cause body inflammation, as well as infections of muscles and surrounding tissues. Therefore, if you have symptoms similar to myositis, you should consult a doctor. Patients with myositis symptoms will receive diagnosis to identify the cause of inflammation through history taking, physical examination, and additional laboratory or other tests as needed. Then, the medical specialists will provide treatment guidelines, which may include medications, so that the patients can be fully recovered and ready to return to normal life.

An article by Assoc. Prof. Adinun Apivatgaroon, M.D., Experienced Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgeon

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Wed, 30 Jul 2025