The basic definition of myopathy is a disorder of the muscles usually causing muscle weakness. There are many different types of myopathy; however, the three that will be discussed are inflammatory, congenital, and mitochondrial. Inflammatory myopathy is the inflammation of the muscles. Congenital myopathy is a delay in motor skills and skeletal and facial abnormalities that manifests at birth. Mitochondrial myopathies are caused by genetic abnormalities. The history of myopathy is quite vague; However, in 1999, Professor Laing made a new discovery of muscle diseases in infants. Since Professor Laing's discovery, the worldwide identification of actin mutations has been shown to cause muscle weakness, sometimes called floppy baby syndrome. (Perkins expert helps revolutionize the world's view of the disease, 2014) Anyone can develop myopathy. Women suffer from myopathies approximately twice as often as men. These diseases affect all ethnic groups. (Inflammatory Myopathies, 2013) Out of approximately 100,000 people, 5 to 10 suffer from some type of myopathy. In most people with myopathies, weakness occurs in the muscles of the shoulders, arms, legs, and pelvis. If the disease progresses, the muscles of the hands and feet may also be weakened. Other signs would be body pain, cramps, stiffness, tenderness like the tingling one may feel when muscles fall asleep, and a feeling of tightness. Some normal activities would be difficult for someone with myopathy to do, such as going up and down the stairs or even walking around the house. Diagnoses are usually carried out by a neuromuscular specialist. Typically, a diagnosis involves several outpatient tests to determine the specific type of myopathy. In some cases it is necessary to wait ... middle of paper ... even if they were all different. Works Cited NINDS Myopathy Information Page. (April 16, 2014). Myopathy Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Accessed May 2, 2014, from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myopathy/myopathy.htmSwierzewski, III, MD, SJ (September 14, 2010). Diagnosis of myopathy. Myopathies. Accessed May 3, 2014, from http://www.healthcommunities.com/myopathies/diagnosis.shtml Expert Perkins helps revolutionize the world's view of the disease. (January 1, 2014). Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. Retrieved May 3, 2014 from http://www.perkins.org.au/news/perkins-expert-helps-revolutionise-world-view-of-dMD, MM (January 1, 2013). Inflammatory myopathies. Accessed May 7, 2014 from http://www.rheumatology.org/Practice/Clinical/Patients/Diseases_And_Conditions/Inflammatory_Myopathies/