Myositis in a child: causes, symptoms, treatment, recovery, prevention and recommendations of pediatricians

Myositis is an inflammation of a structural muscle or a group of muscle fibers. Provoking factors can be hypothermia, infectious, toxic or traumatic damage. 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 worth examining in more detail the treatment and symptoms of myositis in children (neck, back, chest and other species) in order to identify and overcome the disease in time.

Causes

The occurrence of myositis in a child can be a consequence of mechanical (physical) effects or can be triggered by various infections and inflammatory processes in the body. The main factors causing the inflammatory process in the muscle tissue of the child’s neck are considered to be the following factors:

1. A long and uncontrolled stay of a baby in a draft without appropriate clothing (depending on weather and climatic conditions).
2. Cervical myositis can be the result of a child’s prolonged stay in an uncomfortable, unnatural position (with an incorrectly turned, “turned” head). For example, parents should notice in what position the child sleeps, with what tilt of his head he does his homework or plays musical instruments, how long and in what position he is at the computer.
3. If during the injury a child’s neck muscle tissue is damaged and swollen, then in the future this can provoke myositis as a result of the inflammatory process in healed tissues.
4. In the presence of inflammation in any organ in the body of the child, with untimely initiation of therapy, this process, as a rule, extends to neighboring, not yet affected areas of the body. Myositis can also be a continuation of another inflammatory disease.
5. 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 also enters the neck muscles, the result is cervical myositis in the usual or purulent form (depending on whether the infection is viral or bacterial).
6. 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, infection with helminths or poisoning with chemicals can become a trigger for the development of the inflammatory process in the muscles (including the cervical).

Symptoms

Often a child cannot accurately describe his feelings and indicate the localization of pain, but myositis is a painful and dangerous disease that cannot be treated. Despite several types of myositis, there are common symptoms that help adults understand what happened. Common symptoms include pain that does not have a clear location, fever, especially in the area of ​​inflammation, general lethargy and intoxication symptoms.

Local manifestations include: limited movement due to shooting, fulminant pain, muscle spasms, redness of the skin at the site of inflammation and temperature. Often the first and distinct manifestations are noticeable upon awakening. The child begins to act up, he is inactive, and when moving begins to scream and cry. Body temperature can increase 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 cannot move them normally, with damage to the muscles of the spine, the child cannot turn the body and head.

Neck

With myositis of the neck muscles of 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 his neck or bow his head. Irradiation of pain in the brain, shoulders, back and shoulder blades is likely. Pain does not become less after a period of calm, does not leave a person if he is without movement. Probably redness of the skin over areas of inflammation. With the influence of cold, the patient's condition becomes more complicated.

Back

Pain tends to increase in the morning, after a child spends a long time without movement. In the nighttime, there is an increase in swelling of tissues, reflex muscle spasms. As a rule, back pain occurs a couple of days after the influence of a provoking factor and lasts a long period after its elimination. Each motor activity - inclinations, turns and other movements, accompanied by muscle stretching, leads to an increase in pain.

Arms and legs

This type is extremely rare without involving other structural muscles in other areas of the body. Most often, hip myositis occurs in a child. Most of 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 department

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 cell 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 problems with swallowing, coughing and shortness of breath are added. It becomes difficult for a person to take a deep breath. In extremely serious cases, respiratory muscles with further fibrosis of the lung tissue are likely to be involved in the pathological process.

Eyes

It affects the muscles of 1 or 2 eyes. The pain increases when you try to look sideways or up. The eyelids swell, it is not possible to fully reveal them. Perhaps the formation of unexpressed exophthalmos. If the disease acquires 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. She wears a aching look and does not stop, even if a person is in a state of calm. The intensification of pain occurs when pressure is applied to the lower back, as well as during the period of movement: tilting, turning the body, etc.

The disease should be distinguished not only from osteochondrosis, kidney disease, but also from a lumbar hernia. For this purpose, the doctor must pay special attention to the symptoms of the disease, perform an X-ray examination, MRI or CT.

Diagnostics

A pediatrician begins the collection of an anamnesis for the further diagnosis of myositis in a child, who should try to qualify the existing pathology and refer the parents for an accurate diagnosis to a specialist specialist - a rheumatologist. The first stage of diagnosis is the collection of complaints and an external examination of a sick baby. At the same time, attention is focused on the ability to freely rotate 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 diagnosis of myositis, the child needs additional special research methods, namely:

• mandatory is a blood sampling for a general analysis;
• X-ray and ultrasound in case of suspected myositis will help visually examine the localization and degree of damage to the muscle tissue of the neck, as well as the spread of inflammation to the bones and neighboring organs;
• hardware methods of research, such as electroneuromyography and measurement of muscle strength, will determine the degree of activity of muscle fibers in healthy and myositis-affected areas of the neck.

To establish the root cause of the occurrence of myositis in a child, the attending physician may need to conduct additional laboratory tests regarding other organs and systems of the baby's body.

Disease classification

Myositis in children and adults is a difficult 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:

1. The 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.
2. The second form of myositis is a disease with a duration of two to three weeks.
3. 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 frequency of exacerbation of the disease.

Depending on the location of the pain, myositis is divided into two types:

• limited or local myositis;
• generalized or diffuse myositis.

Depending on the causes of the disease in children, there are several types of myositis.

1. Infectious, without pus, which occurs due to the ingestion of viral infections. These may be influenza, tuberculosis or syphilis and brucellosis viruses.
2. Acute purulent myositis causes osteomyelitis - a chronic process of decay.
3. Parasitic myositis - caused by a parasitic infection trichinosis, cysticercosis, toxoplasmosis and so on.
4. Toxic myositis, which develops as a result of intoxication and poisoning of the body. This includes alcohol poisoning, narcotic, toxic and drug.
5. Post-traumatic myositis develops due to injured musculoskeletal tissue, which leads to the deposition of salts.
6. Stadionomic myositis - occurs as a result of hypothermia of the body.
   

How to treat myositis in a child?

Before starting treatment of the disease in children, first you 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 there was hypothermia during a walk in the fresh air?

Before you understand what myositis in children has symptoms and treatment, it would be nice to know about the possible causes of its appearance. As a rule, this disease is the result of getting into a draft or muscle tension has occurred due to a long stay in the wrong position of the body. This includes incorrect posture during classes on the computer.

Muscle myositis in children can be caused as a result of an injury, which provoked the appearance of edema and an inflammatory process in the injured area. In addition, it can be of an autoimmune nature. This pathology is acute and has a chronic form. Naturally, the treatment in these cases will be different.

The main rule of treating myositis in children is the elimination of the main causes of the disease, no initiative on the part of the parents. Here you need a consultation with a pediatrician and a neurologist. In exceptional cases, a comprehensive examination is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis.

Medication for cervical myositis in children is carried out according to the therapeutic regimen for the treatment of the disease.

1. External preparations (ointments, gels, compresses and so on). Their effect is aimed at restoring blood circulation, eliminating pain. Children under three years of age are prescribed Mentolatum Balm, Sanitas Liniment, and Menovazin. Children who have reached the age of 14 are prescribed Deep Reelif, Finalgon.
2. Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For example, Nurofen, Arofen.
3. In difficult cases, to eliminate severe pain, novocaine blockade of nerve endings at the site of muscle damage is used in combination with the use of anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic drugs.
4. In severe cases of myositis caused by parasitic infections, special anthelmintic therapy is used. If the parents have lost their vigilance and let the disease in their children drift, the disease will become chronic, it will be much more difficult to cure it.

If we consider in more detail, then the treatment of myositis of the neck in a child consists of several parts.

• Corticosteroid use.

They reduce inflammation. Most doctors use Prednisone for this purpose. In addition, drugs such as Methylprednisolone, Hydrocortisone, Triamcinolone, Betamethasone, Dexamethasone can be used. Taking high doses of these pharmaceutical substances makes it possible to reduce the activity of immunity, 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 personally, it is forbidden to use these substances on their own.

If hormonal drugs are recommended, an ophthalmologist should appear at least once a year. The problem is that these substances increase the risk of cataract formation. A serious complication from taking corticosteroids is bone necrosis, for this reason, if a bone pain occurs, the attending physician should be informed immediately.

• Azathioprine and Methotrexate.

These 2 substances are immunosuppressive drugs focused on suppressing the function responsible for the production of red blood cells and white blood cells. Their intake requires monthly blood control. Side effects include hair loss, liver disease, nausea, vomiting, and secondary infections.

• "Plaquenil."

A medication for the treatment of myositis in children relieves inflammation and exhibits an immunosuppressive effect. Most often, it is prescribed for use by the elderly, which suffer from dermatomyositis. For children, it is prescribed in rare cases.

• Gamma immunoglobulin.

This medication has been used for 15 years to treat a wide variety of diseases. With myositis, it makes it possible to reduce the amount of an enzyme (creatine phosphokinase) that occurs in the blood upon muscle breakdown. This medication is rationally used for myositis provoked by viruses. The drug is able to give a large number of side effects (digestive pathologies, aseptic meningitis, fever, headaches), for this reason it is used if other substances have become ineffective.

• "Cyclophosphamide".

A strong immunosuppressant that is used only for severe illness. The risk of developing absolutely all side effects when taking Cyclophosphamide is increasing.

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: infections of the organs of hearing, acute inflammatory diseases, febrile conditions, abnormal load on the spine (in particular, the cervical-shoulder section), frequent overstrain - 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 priority medical devices to correct the pathological condition is not enough.

There are a number of recovery procedures that need to be completed for a complete cure. Their list includes:

1. Physiotherapy - electrophoresis, clay wraps, specialized baths, vibration therapy.
2. Physiotherapy exercises - is carried out strictly under the supervision of a specialist in rehabilitation therapeutic gymnastics. You can take the course of exercise therapy in the direction from the local doctor of the orthopedic surgeon.
3. Massage - therapeutic and therapeutic massage is prescribed only after a full course of exercise therapy. This approach is the only correct one, since it consolidates the positive result of all the methods, the impact on the problem.

Prevention

In order not to have to go through long-term treatment, the best solution is to prevent the problem - prevention. Prevention with myositis will not only eliminate the possibility of developing an ailment, but also positively affect 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 become inflamed. In addition, on cold nights, it is necessary to close the windows to prevent drafts. Children should always be protected from drafts, not only at night. Also, you do not need to let the children sit for a long time near the cold walls, so the chances of catching spinal muscles are great.

In order to avoid traumatic myositis, moderate physical education is needed, harmoniously developing and strengthening the muscles of the child. Trained and adapted to the load muscles are more difficult to injure with sharp and inaccurate movements. Therefore, sports will be an excellent assistant in strengthening the muscle corset.

Children, often sitting up for lessons, forget about the importance of sitting at the workplace correctly and taking warm-up breaks every hour. An awkward posture also becomes one of the causes of myositis, so a timely reminder of choosing 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.