What is the treatment for myositis?

• A. NSAIDs
• B. Physical therapy
• C. Antibiotics
• D. Surgery

Answer: (A)

Inflammation of muscle causes pain and makes movement painful or limited, so the first goal is to reduce inflammation and relieve pain to restore function. NSAIDs do this by inhibiting enzymes that produce inflammatory prostaglandins, which lowers both swelling and discomfort. This makes them the appropriate initial pharmacologic choice for myositis, allowing you to participate in gentle activity or physical therapy more comfortably.

Physical therapy is commonly used to rebuild strength and improve range of motion, but it relies on adequate pain control and reduced inflammation to be effective, which NSAIDs help provide. Antibiotics would be reserved for a bacterial infection rather than inflammatory myositis, and surgery isn’t indicated for inflammatory muscle inflammation unless there’s a separate structural issue. In some cases, more targeted therapies like corticosteroids or immunosuppressants are needed for the underlying inflammatory process, but NSAIDs are typically the starting treatment to manage symptoms.