Trach-ties

Muscular Diseases

Movement. Do you think about it often? Or do you just take for granted that when you want to move that you will?



Muscles are both voluntary and involuntary, meaning we can move them by thought and others just work with no thought process involved at all. Muscles do the majority of the work our bodies do. These things we don't notice until something is wrong. We use muscles to breathe, our heart is a muscle, walking or crawling utilizes many muscle groups in fine coordination, digestion even has to so with muscles. The perfection needed to have a human stand is a symphony of nerve impulses and muscle response. But what happens when there is a sour note in that symphony?



There are many diseases now known to man that disrupt this coordinated effort, whether they be neurological or muscular in origin they can disrupt a life in many ways. People with neuro-muscular diseases deal with from weak muscles to no muscle movement. It can be very frustrating if you have had many years with "normal" muscle function, then to learn to adapt to little or no muscle strength. It is new lessons every day in how to do things you had taken for granted prior to the illness.



Some start out their lives with weakness, others develop it in early childhood or later in life. Children with Muscular Dystrophy, spina bifida, and other muscular diseases start out their lives with the challenge of adapting to their disease and society. There are also types of Muscular Dystophy that become apparent later in life. Accidents also lead to paralysis and muscle weakness. Any variety of these lead to new challenges to what seem like "every day tasks."



There are auto-immune diseases that also affect muscles, also known as "myopathies." The causes and treatment of many of there are not clear even to the medical community. Polymyositis, Dermatomyositis, Inclusion Body Myositis,Myasthenia Gravis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica are just a few. These are diseases in which the body sees its own muscles as foreign and attacks them, leaving the person weak or with little muscle movement. Not only the muscles we use in our arms and legs are affected by these. Many with MG or PM have swallowing difficulty due to weakness of the muscles of the esophagus. These are usually progressive, many times their onset not even noticed or attributed to a bad day.



Muscles can also be affected by "demyelinating" diseases. Myelin is the "insulator" for nerve fibers. Diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, are examples of these types of diseases. Once that myelin is disrupted the impulses from the brain are unable to reach the muscles to achieve movement. Multiple Sclerosis can go into "remissions", where ALS tends to be fatal for those who are unfortunate enough to acquire it.



The next time you go for a walk, just think of what muscles you are using and how well they serve you. Appreciate the unlimited movement you have.




Below are links to resources for information on Neuro-muscular and Muscular Diseases:

Muscular Diseases

Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign

Muscular Dystrophy Association Websites

Myopathy Differential Diagnosis

Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy Forum

Healthopedia - Muscular Dystrophy

Myositis

Myositis Association of America

Sharon's Myositis Page

Polymyositis Support

McMaster Science

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association

Stan's Polymyositis Page

Polymyalgia Rheumatica

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association

Medical Talk

NORD Information page

Medical Library

PMR info page

E Medicine

Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America

Myasthenia Gravis Info

Fighting MG

University of Chicago Neurology Department

NeuroMuscular Disease Database

National Library of Medicine

Healthopedia - Myasthenia Gravis

Neurosearch

Publications by MDA

National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis "Lou Gehrig's Disease"

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association

Caregiver Factsheets

ALS infosheet

ALS of New York

Michael Zaslow's ALS page

ALS Survival Guide

ALS links

Multiple Sclerosis

Friends with MS

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Multiple Sclerosis Association of America

Infosci MS Information Page

MS Webpals

International Multiple Sclerosis Support Foundation

MS Only

Healthgate

Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centres

MS Central

Beyond MS

MS Watch


Disclaimer; In no way are these web pages or links intended to replace care by a qualified medical professional. They are here for information only. If you feel you fit any of the symptoms listed in any of these links you should seek care from a qualified medical professional.



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