Myositis is an inflammation of a structural muscle or a group of muscle fibers. Provoking factors can be hypothermia, infectious, toxic or traumatic injury. The disease is expressed by pain and limitation of the amplitude of muscle movement, a decrease or increase in sensitivity in the affected area, a feeling of tension and tension. It is worthwhile to understand in more detail the treatment and symptoms of myositis in children (neck, back, chest and other types) in order to identify and overcome the disease in time.
Reasons
The occurrence of myositis in a child may be the result of a mechanical (physical) impact or be triggered by various infections and inflammatory processes in the body. The following factors are considered to be the main causes of the inflammatory process in the muscle tissues of the child's neck:
- Long and uncontrolled stay of the baby in a draft without appropriate clothing (depending on weather and climatic conditions).
- Cervical myositis can be the result of a child being in an uncomfortable,unnatural posture (with an incorrectly turned, "turned" head). For example, parents should notice in what position the child sleeps, with what tilt of the head he does homework or plays musical instruments, how long and in what position he is at the computer.
- If during an injury in a child, the muscle tissues of the neck are damaged and swell, then in the future this can provoke myositis as a result of the inflammatory process in the healed tissues.
- If there is inflammation in any organ in the body of a child, with untimely therapy, this process, as a rule, spreads to neighboring, not yet affected areas of the body. Also, myositis can be a continuation of another inflammatory disease.
- The above principle can be correlated with infectious foci. In the presence of infection of the child's body, the pathogen with blood and lymph enters the muscles of the neck, the result is cervical myositis in the usual or purulent form (depending on whether the infection is viral or bacterial).
- The cause of chronic myositis with pulling, constant pain can sometimes be some kind of autoimmune pathology, systemically associated with connective tissues and joints.
In addition, even infection with helminths or chemical poisoning can become a trigger for the development of an inflammatory process in muscles (including cervical ones).
Symptoms
Often a child cannot accurately describe his feelings and point tolocalization of pain, but myositis is a painful and dangerous disease that cannot be left untreated. Despite several types of myositis, there are common symptoms that help adults understand what happened. Common symptoms include pain that is not clearly located, fever especially in the area of inflammation, general lethargy and symptoms of intoxication.
Local manifestations include: limitation of movement due to shooting, lightning pains, muscle spasm, reddening of the skin at the site of inflammation and temperature. Often the first and distinct manifestations are noticeable after waking up. The child begins to act up, he is inactive, and when moving, he begins to scream and cry. Body temperature may rise even in the absence of infection.
During examinations, muscle soreness, spasm, sharp pain when pressed and redness of the site of inflammation, as well as a small tubercle under the skin, are revealed. With myositis of the neck, the child cannot turn his head, with myositis of the limbs he cannot move them normally, with damage to the muscles of the spine, the child cannot turn his torso and head.
Neck
With myositis of the neck muscles in a child, pain appears a couple of hours after the influence of a provoking factor. Painful sensations tend to increase during a person's attempt to turn the neck or bow the head. Possible irradiation of pain in the brain, shoulders, back and shoulder blades. The pains do not decrease after a period of calm, they do not leave a person if he remains motionless. Probably reddening of the skin over the areas of inflammation. Under the influencecold, the patient's condition worsens.
Back
Pain tends to increase in the morning after the child has been inactive for a long time. At night, there is an increase in tissue swelling, reflex muscle spasms. As a rule, back pain occurs a couple of days after the influence of a provoking factor and persists for a long period after its elimination. Each physical activity - tilts, turns and other movements, accompanied by muscle stretching, leads to an increase in pain.
Arms and legs
This type is extremely rare without the involvement of other structural muscles located in other areas of the body. The most common is hip myositis in a child. Most of all, the muscles of the lower and upper extremities become inflamed with polymyositis. It becomes difficult for the patient to move around, raise his arms up.
Thoracic
This species has a fairly wide popularity. The pain syndrome regularly haunts a person, since the sick person is not able to reduce the movements of the chest resulting from breathing.
If the disease is difficult, then the muscles of the larynx and pharynx are involved in the painful process. This contributes to the appearance of problems with swallowing, coughing and shortness of breath join. It becomes difficult for a person to take a deep breath. In extremely serious cases, involvement in the pathological process of the respiratory muscles with further fibrosis of the lung tissue is likely.
Eyes
Affects the muscles of 1 or 2 eyes. The pain increases when you try to look to the sides or up. The eyelids swell, it is not possible to open them completely. Perhaps the formation of unexpressed exophthalmos. If the disease takes on a chronic course, there is the possibility of the formation of restrictive myopathy.
Loin
Often, patients confuse this disease with lumbago, but pain in myositis is less acute. It wears a aching look and does not stop, even if the person is in a state of calm. Increased pain occurs with pressure on the lower back, as well as during the period of movement: bending, turning the body, etc.
The disease should be distinguished not only from osteochondrosis, kidney disease, but also from a hernia of the lumbar. To do this, the doctor must pay special attention to the symptoms of the disease, perform an X-ray study, MRI or CT scan.
Diagnosis
Taking an anamnesis for further diagnosing myositis in a child is started by a pediatrician, who should try to qualify the existing pathology and refer parents for an accurate diagnosis to a specialized specialist - a rheumatologist. The first stage of diagnosis is the collection of complaints and an external examination of the sick baby. At the same time, attention is focused on the ability to freely turn the neck, general mobility, and the presence of swollen areas. On palpation, the most painful areas and the approximate degree of damage to the muscles of the neck are determined.
For the final diagnosismyositis the child needs additional special research methods, namely:
- blood sampling for a general analysis is mandatory;
- x-ray and ultrasound for suspected myositis will help to visually examine the location and degree of damage to the muscle tissue of the neck, as well as the spread of inflammation to the bones and neighboring organs;
- Such hardware research methods as electroneuromyography and measurement of muscle strength will determine the degree of activity of muscle fibers in he althy and myositis-affected areas of the neck.
To establish the root cause of myositis in a child, the attending physician may need to conduct additional laboratory tests on other organs and systems of the baby's body.
Disease classification
Myositis in children and adults is a complex disease characterized by muscle inflammation. At the same time, myositis is a disease that, unfortunately, is more common in children than in adults. According to the nature of the course of the disease, myositis is classified into several forms:
- Acute form of the disease. This form of the course of the disease is characterized by its duration, which can be less than three weeks.
- The second form of myositis is a disease with a duration of two to three weeks.
- And the last - a chronic form of myositis, when the sensation of pain does not stop for more than three months and at the same time there is a periodic exacerbation of the disease.
Depending on the location of pain, myositis is divided into two types:
- limited or localized myositis;
- generalized or diffuse myositis.
Depending on the causes of the disease in children, there are several types of myositis.
- Infectious, without pus, which occurs due to viral infections entering the body. These can be influenza, tuberculosis, or syphilis and brucellosis.
- Acute purulent myositis causes osteomyelitis - a chronic process of putrefaction.
- Parasitic myositis - caused by a parasitic infection of trichinosis, cysticercosis, toxoplasmosis and so on.
- Toxic myositis, which develops as a result of intoxication and poisoning of the body. This includes alcohol poisoning, narcotic, toxic and drug poisoning.
- Post-traumatic myositis develops due to injured musculoskeletal tissue, which leads to the deposition of s alts.
- Stadionomic myositis - occurs as a result of hypothermia.
How to treat myositis in a child?
Before you start treating a disease in children, you first need to establish a diagnosis, find out the causes of the disease. Maybe the child got sick as a result of being in a draft? Perhaps hypothermia occurred during a walk in the fresh air?
Before you figure out what myositis in children has symptoms and treatment, it would be good to know about the possible causes of its occurrence. As a rule, thisthe disease is the result of getting into a draft, or there was muscle tension due to a long stay in the wrong position of the body. This includes bad posture while working on the computer.
Myositis of muscles in children can be caused as a result of an injury, which provoked the appearance of edema and inflammation in the injured area. In addition, it may have an autoimmune nature. This pathology is acute and has a chronic form. Naturally, the treatment in these cases will be different.
The main rule for the treatment of myositis in children is the elimination of the main causes of the disease, no initiative on the part of the parents. Here consultation of the pediatrician and the neuropathologist is necessary. In exceptional cases, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination in order to make an accurate diagnosis.
Drug treatment of cervical myositis in children is carried out according to the therapeutic regimen for the treatment of the disease.
- External preparations (ointments, gels, compresses, and so on). Their effect is aimed at restoring blood circulation, eliminating pain. Children under three years old are prescribed "Mentolatum Balm", "Sanitas liniment", "Menovazin". Children who have reached the age of 14 are prescribed Deep Relief, Finalgon.
- Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For example, Nurofen, Arofen.
- In difficult cases, to eliminate severe pain, novocaine blockade of nerve endings is used at the site of muscle damage in combination with the use of anti-inflammatory,antiparasitic agents.
- In severe cases of myositis caused by parasitic infections, special anthelmintic therapy is used. If the parents lost their vigilance and let the disease take its course in children, the disease will become chronic, it will be much more difficult to cure it.
If we consider in more detail, the treatment of neck myositis in a child consists of several parts.
Using corticosteroids
They reduce inflammation. Most of all, doctors use Prednisolone for this purpose. In addition, drugs such as Methylprednisolone, Hydrocortisone, Triamcinolone, Betamethasone, Dexamethasone can be used. Taking higher doses of these pharmaceutical substances makes it possible to reduce the activity of the immune system, which will lead to a reduction in inflammation. But in this case, the threat of infection with other diseases increases. The dose of corticosteroids is calculated in each case individually, it is forbidden to use these substances on your own.
If hormone therapy is recommended, you should visit an ophthalmologist at least once a year. The problem is that these substances increase the risk of cataract formation. Bone necrosis is considered a serious complication from taking corticosteroids, for this reason, if you experience bone pain, you should immediately inform your doctor.
Azathioprine and Methotrexate
These 2 immunosuppressive substances are focused on suppressing the function responsible for the productionerythrocytes and leukocytes. Their reception requires monthly blood control. Side effects include hair loss, liver problems, nausea, vomiting, secondary infections.
"Plaquenil"
Medication for the treatment of myositis in children relieves inflammation and exhibits an immunosuppressive effect. Most often, it is prescribed for use by older people who suffer from dermatomyositis. For children, it is prescribed in rare cases.
Gamma immunoglobulin
This medication has been used for the treatment of various diseases for 15 years. With myositis, it makes it possible to reduce the amount of the enzyme (creatine phosphokinase), which occurs in the blood upon muscle destruction. This medication is rational to use for myositis provoked by viruses. The drug is capable of producing a large number of side effects (digestion pathologies, aseptic meningitis, feverish conditions, headaches), for this reason it is used if other substances have become ineffective.
"Cyclophosphamide"
A strong immunosuppressant that is used only in severe disease. The threat of developing absolutely all side effects when taking "Cyclophosphamide" increases.
Recovery
Cervical myositis is a rare disease. In children, it appears at the age of 4-5 years, sometimes earlier - at 2-3 years. The provocateur of the disease are: ear infections, acute inflammatory diseases, febrile conditions, improper load onthe spine (in particular, the cervico-shoulder region), frequent overstrain - the lack of dosed physical activity. After confirming the diagnosis, the child is selected for a comprehensive treatment that is fully consistent with the age characteristics and degree of development of the patient. However, the use of primary medical means to correct the pathological condition is not enough.
There are a number of restorative procedures that must be completed for a complete cure. Their list includes:
- Physiotherapy – electrophoresis, clay wraps, specialized baths, vibration therapy.
- Therapeutic exercise - carried out strictly under the supervision of a specialist in restorative therapeutic exercises. You can take a course of exercise therapy with a referral from your local orthopedic surgeon.
- Massage - therapeutic and therapeutic and preventive massage is prescribed only after completing a full course of exercise therapy. This approach is the only correct one, as it consolidates the positive result of all methods, impact on the problem.
Prevention
In order not to have to go through a long treatment, the best solution is to prevent the problem - prevention. Prevention for myositis will not only eliminate the possibility of developing the disease, but will also have a positive effect on the overall strengthening of the child.
It is necessary to dress the child according to the weather in the cool season: warm scarves and sweaters will not allow the muscles to freeze and inflame. In addition, on cold nights it is necessary to close the windows to prevent drafts. Must be protected from draftschildren always, not only at night. Also, do not allow children to sit for a long time near cold walls, as the chances of chilling the muscles of the spine are high.
In order to avoid traumatic myositis, moderate physical education is necessary, which harmoniously develops and strengthens the muscles of the child. Muscles trained and adapted to loads are more difficult to injure with sharp and sloppy movements. Therefore, sports will be a great help in strengthening the muscle corset.
Children, often sitting up for lessons, forget how important it is to sit properly at the workplace and take breaks to warm up every hour. An uncomfortable posture also becomes one of the causes of myositis, so a timely reminder to choose a comfortable position is necessary. Do not forget about infectious myositis, the prevention of which will be the timely treatment of any infectious processes and the strengthening of immunity in order to prevent the development of diseases.
