There are more than 650 skeletal muscles attached to the bones in your body. They enable you to walk, run, jump, and more. Muscle weakness and fatigue may be typical after a grueling workout, but they can also point to myopathy, a family of diseases that weaken your muscles.
The knowledgeable and compassionate provider team at Houston Neurological Institute diagnoses and treats myopathy with the most sophisticated approaches, as well as ones that are targeted to the specific type of myopathy — there are many — that affects a patient.
We provide advanced care for patients needing help with neurological issues and conditions in and around Pearland and Pasadena. In addition to offering you extraordinary treatment, we’re invested in educating you about myopathy so we can be true partners in your care.
Myopathy can be inherited or acquired. Myopathy that’s inherited results from a mutation in one or more of the condition’s genes, passed down from one of your parents.
It’s also possible you could be diagnosed with acquired myopathy later in life. Acquired myopathies may stem from certain disorders, infections, electrolyte imbalances, and exposure to some medications, as well as other causes.
Inherited myopathies include congenital myopathies, which typically start at birth or in childhood. Although they’re not progressive, these myopathies affect all the muscles. Other inherited myopathies are muscular dystrophies, metabolic myopathies, and mitochondrial myopathies, which are connected to mitochondrial defects. Mitochondria are the organelles in your cells that produce energy.
In addition, respiratory problems and difficulty with the muscles that control swallowing and speaking can occur.
Examples of acquired myopathy include autoimmune/inflammatory myopathy, toxic myopathy, which is associated with a reaction to a toxin or medication, and infectious myopathies, which are related to viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal infections.
In addition to muscle weakness and fatigue, the muscle fiber dysfunction that defines myopathy causes a host of debilitating symptoms, including:
Another common myopathy symptom is proximal weakness, or having significantly more weakness in your upper arms or legs as compared to your hands or feet.
When you visit Houston Neurological Institute to address your symptoms, we collect as much data as possible to arrive at a definitive diagnosis. To do this, your neurologist will recommend some or all of these steps:
Your doctor may also recommend an EMG (electromyography) test, which looks at your peripheral nervous system (the nerves outside your brain and spinal cord) and muscles.
Since there are so many different types of myopathy, even within those classified as inherited and acquired, the specific kind of myopathy you’re diagnosed with greatly impacts the treatment plan that your Houston Neurological Institute provider creates for you.
Your doctor may recommend a combination of treatments, such as:
The particular combination of treatments that’s best for your myopathy is delivered with care and warmth, and we’re always eager to answer your questions, address your concerns, and adjust your treatment when necessary. In short, your provider ensures that you fully understand your treatment plan and guides you every step of the way.
Call our Houston Neurological Institute’s Pasadena or Pearland office today to schedule an appointment, or request one online.
