Muscle Disorders

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Muscle Disorders

Basics

Summary
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Diagnosis and Tests
Treatments and Therapies

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Related Issues
Specifics
Genetics

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Summary

Your muscles help you move and help your body work. Different types of muscles have different jobs. There are many problems that can affect muscles. Muscle disorders can cause weakness, pain or even paralysis.

Causes of muscle disorders include

Injury or overuse, such as sprains or strains, cramps or tendinitis
A genetic disorder, such as muscular dystrophy
Some cancers
Inflammation, such as myositis
Diseases of nerves that affect muscles
Infections
Certain medicines

Sometimes the cause is not known.

Start Here

Myopathies (Muscular Dystrophy Association) - PDF Also in Spanish
Myopathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Diagnosis and Tests

Electromyography (EMG) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
MRI of the Musculoskeletal System (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Needle Biopsy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

Botulinum Toxin Injections: A Treatment for Muscle Spasms (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

Foot Drop (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Specifics

Congenital Myopathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Extra-Abdominal Desmoid Tumors (Aggressive Fibromatoses) (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
Familial Periodic Paralyses (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Hypotonia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Metabolic Diseases of Muscle (Muscular Dystrophy Association) - PDF Also in Spanish
Mitochondrial Myopathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary
Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Myotonia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
What Is Sarcopenia? (International Osteoporosis Foundation)

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: actin-accumulation myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: adenosine monophosphate deaminase deficiency (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Brody myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: cap myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: central core disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: centronuclear myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: collagen VI-related myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital fiber-type disproportion (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Danon disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: early-onset myopathy with fatal cardiomyopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: glycogen storage disease type III (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: glycogen storage disease type VII (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hereditary myopathy with early respiratory failure (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hypokalemic periodic paralysis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: inclusion body myopathy 2 (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: inclusion body myopathy with early-onset Paget disease and frontotemporal dementia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: intranuclear rod myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: isolated hyperCKemia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: malignant hyperthermia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Miyoshi myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: multiminicore disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: myopathy with deficiency of iron-sulfur cluster assembly enzyme (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: myosin storage myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: myotonia congenita (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: nemaline myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: neutral lipid storage disease with myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: paramyotonia congenita (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: phosphoglycerate kinase deficiency (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: phosphoglycerate mutase deficiency (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: potassium-aggravated myotonia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: rippling muscle disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: tubular aggregate myopathy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: X-linked myotubular myopathy (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

Information about Musculoskeletal Conditions (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Muscular Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Rhabdomyolysis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

Bones, Muscles, and Joints: The Musculoskeletal System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Structure of Skeletal Muscle (National Cancer Institute)

Find an Expert

Find a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician (American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)
Find a Rheumatologist (American College of Rheumatology)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Children

EMG (Electromyography) (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
Healthy Muscles Matter (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
Your Muscles (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

Bones, Muscles, and Joints: The Musculoskeletal System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

Caring for muscle spasticity or spasms (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Compartment syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Contracture deformity (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Creatine phosphokinase test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Electromyography (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Eyelid twitch (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Hypotonia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Muscle aches (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Muscle atrophy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Muscle function loss (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Muscle twitching (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Rhabdomyolysis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Weakness (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish