Polymyositis Treatment
Inflammatory muscle disease — diagnosis and treatment at Arthritis Care of Texas.
Your immune system attacks your muscles and makes them weak. Everyday tasks like climbing stairs or lifting your arms can become hard. Treatment calms the immune system and, with physical therapy, helps rebuild strength.
There is no instant cure — the goal is control: stopping the immune attack on muscle so strength can rebuild. Success looks like rising from chairs and climbing stairs more easily, muscle enzyme levels (CK) returning toward normal, and the lowest steroid dose that keeps you there. Recovery is measured in months, and physical therapy is part of the treatment, not an extra.
Polymyositis is an inflammatory disease that causes the body to produce antibodies against its own tissues. It is characterized by the progressive muscle weakness it causes — particularly among muscles closest to the trunk of the body. Other symptoms may include joint tenderness, speech impairment, shortness of breath, fatigue or difficulty swallowing.
Did you know? Because polymyositis is a progressive disease, it may be difficult to identify symptoms when they first begin. Many people with polymyositis experience symptom variations that vary in severity and frequency, further complicating a diagnosis. It is not known what causes the disease nor which types of stimuli may trigger attacks, but treatments are available to help prevent them and minimize their severity.
What factors could put me at risk for developing polymyositis?
Polymyositis is most common among adult women — especially those between the ages of 40 and 60. However, anyone of any age or gender can develop the disease, including children between the ages of 5 and 15.
What types of treatments are available for polymyositis?
Examples of polymyositis treatments include immunosuppressant therapies, TNF-inhibitors, physical therapy, and dietary modifications. Ongoing treatment can also help patients regain lost muscle tone and function.
Is there anything I can do to help facilitate treatment?
One of the most effective steps you can take to help manage polymyositis is to avoid physical activity until your rheumatologist contains the disease and symptoms begin to improve. Speak to our caring and dedicated staff today.
Did you know?
- The name is plain Greek: poly (many) + myo (muscle) + itis (inflammation) — “inflammation of many muscles.”
- It usually announces itself in the muscles closest to the body’s center, so the first clues are everyday things: climbing stairs, or reaching a high shelf.
- When muscle is inflamed, an enzyme called CK leaks into the bloodstream — so a simple blood test can act like a smoke detector for this condition.
Common worries
Why do you keep checking my CK level?
CK is an enzyme that leaks from injured muscle, so its level mirrors how active the muscle inflammation is — falling CK usually means treatment is working, and a rising CK warns of a flare before weakness is obvious. It is the closest thing muscle disease has to a dashboard gauge.
Will I get my strength fully back?
Many patients recover most or all strength, especially when treatment starts early; some retain mild weakness in the hips and shoulders. Rebuilding is slow — muscle recovers over months — which is why therapy exercises continue even when energy is low.
Why tests of my lungs and swallowing?
The same inflammation can, in some patients, involve the lung tissue or the swallowing muscles. Screening finds involvement early, when it is most treatable, rather than waiting for symptoms — cough, breathlessness, and choking are late signs we would rather pre-empt.
Related Dermatomyositis · Imuran (azathioprine) · Steroid tablets · Request an appointment
What counts as a flare: weakness clearly worse than usual — new difficulty with stairs, lifting arms to wash hair, or rising from low chairs — especially with rising muscle aching, exhaustion, or any new trouble swallowing or breathing.
What to do: call us at (361) 400-7700 promptly; trouble swallowing or breathing needs same-day, urgent assessment. We will check muscle enzymes (CK) — flare decisions here are made on strength and labs together.
Do not adjust steroids on your own: do not increase or restart prednisone without calling — the plan depends on your CK level, your other medicines, and how long you have been tapering.
What isn’t a flare: muscle soreness a day or two after new exercise, or tiredness after a poor night. Weakness that is symmetric and progressive over days to weeks is the pattern that matters.
Ready to be seen? New patients are seen within 2–4 weeks.