What is myositis that Samantha Ruth Prabhu suffers from? What are symptoms, triggers and treatment options?

Southern superstar Samantha Ruth Prabhu joined a league of popular icons to share their health condition as she made a social media post on how she was recovering from myositis, an auto-immune condition. She confirmed that the condition had been detected a few months ago but that she was now ready to share her vulnerabilities and show that it was okay to be human and cave in sometimes. Here are the need-to-knows.
What is myositis?
Myositis refers to the inflammation of the muscle. It is basically an autoimmune disorder where the body immunity can injure a muscle from outside or get inflamed, causing injury. In the initial stages, the person has difficulty walking but more than that, there is difficulty in getting up from the sitting position or changing sleep positions in bed. Patients may experience difficulty in getting something from a higher shelf or cabinet as they are not able to raise their elbows. If not treated in time, it can also involve other muscles of the body. So, the patients fear difficulty in swallowing solid objects whereas liquid goes automatically. The disease can also affect the respiratory system if not attended on time and can lead to breathing problems.
What are its types?
There are basically two to three types of myositis. If the skin is involved, we call this condition dermato-myositis where the symptoms are associated with skin rashes, which are basically seen on the upper eyelid and forehead. The second type is only associated with the muscles and the third one is called Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM), which affects thigh muscles, forearm muscles and the muscles below the knee. The third type of myositis is very rare. Myositis is also a secondary outcome of rheumatoid arthritis.

What causes it?
Basically, even a common viral infection, commonly called cough and cold, can trigger some types of myositis. Certain bacteria and some cardiovascular drugs can trigger muscle myositis. Even viruses and parasites can. Alcohol consumption over and above the body’s capacity and cocaine intake can trigger this condition.
Are there ways to prevent it?
There is no way to prevent myositis. One can definitely avoid the triggers mentioned above but it is an autoimmune disorder where the actual cause is not clear. Therefore, it is impossible to prevent this condition. The only preventive practices one could take is to avoid alcohol and cocaine consumption.
When should one visit a doctor?
As this condition is more prevalent among women, they need to pay special attention to the initial signs. As soon as women experience any weakness in the thigh or shoulder muscles and the person is unable to get up from a normal sitting position, they must immediately refer to a rheumatolog. These are specials who deal with these types of autoimmune conditions. Unfortunately, in a majority of the cases, a patient experiencing these symptoms gets referred to an orthopaedic, general medicine doctor or neurolog. Therefore, the treatment gets delayed. In progressive cases, the muscles of the heart and lung get affected.
Can it be treated? What does the treatment entail?
Yes, it is possible to treat this condition. Usually, steroids are given as the first line of treatment if the patient comes for help at an early stage. This can work wonders and the patient is able to recover within a few days. However, in cases of emergency, where the patient experiences major breathing problems or is unable to swallow, we give them steroid therapy. If the patient does not recover even after this, he/she will be given intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) therapy.

Is a certain age group or gender more susceptible to it?
This condition is not confined to any particular age. We have even seen it in children and 16-year-olds. In such cases it is called juvenile myositis. It is also seen among a younger population, between the ages of 25 and 40s. If this condition appears, we look for traces of cancer. Almost 30 per cent of these cases might have cancer which can be assessed a muscle biopsy, MRI and specific tests. There is no particular age bar for this condition.
Is physical therapy an important aspect of management?
Yes, physical therapies play an important role after the patient undergoes drug therapies. The patient will require physical therapy because the muscles become lazy. Since the muscles remain in the position of rest for a long period of time, it becomes difficult to bring back movement after treatment. In some cases, patients may acquire prolonged therapy for months depending upon their case. So, during this time we try steroid-bearing therapies. Of course, steroids are used minimally due to the side effects.