Ask a doctor on the topic of Neurology

Myositis is the inflammation of muscle tissue.

August 7, 2015 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good day,

after a stomach flu, I experienced muscle ache-like symptoms. These developed into severe weakness in my legs (climbing stairs became very difficult, getting up from a chair was challenging, no standing on toes, etc.) and slight weakness in my arms. I have almost no muscle pain.

Diagnosis at the hospital: Myositis a. e. infection-associated. As a result, I had to take 80 mg of Prednisolone daily (76 kg body weight) for 5 days and now the medication is being slowly tapered off over 2 weeks.

At the beginning of the treatment, the CK value was at 500. After starting the medication, the value dropped to 120, but then increased to 170 the next day. The doctor said this was not concerning and did not mean the value would continue to rise overall.

Unfortunately, I have not felt any improvement in my symptoms so far. Still unable to climb stairs, etc.

My questions now are:
1. Is it unusual that I have not felt any improvement despite three weeks of duration and one week of taking cortisone? How long does it take until I can expect to regain strength?
2. What exactly happens in a muscle inflammation? Does it lead to destruction of muscle tissue or how does this unusual loss of strength occur?

Thank you in advance for your answers!

Kind regards

Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good day,

If the inflammation has subsided (the significantly decreased CK value indicates this), then of course the muscle strength is not yet back. Slight fluctuations from 120 to 170 are normal, as the body is sometimes more, sometimes less stressed. Therefore, it may take a few more weeks until the strength returns.

In muscle inflammation, the fibers swell, and some are also destroyed. Hence the loss of strength. The body needs to be trained in order to regenerate, similar to after a long period of bed rest. Therefore, physiotherapy exercises should be prescribed to you if the inflammation activity continues to be low (the values of CRP and BKS are also interesting here, which should be within the normal range).

Sincerely, Dr. Höllering