The basic definition of myopathy is a muscle disorder that usually causes muscle weakness. There are many different types of myopathy; however the three that will be discussed are inflammatory, congenital, and mitochondrial. Inflammatory myopathy is inflammation of the muscles. Congenital myopathy is a delay in motor skills and skeletal and facial abnormalities that appear at birth. Mitochondrial myopathies are caused by genetic abnormalities. The history of myopathy is not clear enough; however in 1999 Professor Laing made a new discovery about muscle diseases in newborns. Since Professor Laing's discovery, worldwide identification of mutations in actin have been shown to cause muscle weakness, sometimes called floppy baby syndrome. (Perkins Expert Helps Revolutionize World's View of Disease, 2014) Anyone can develop myopathy. Women suffer from myopathies about twice as often as men. These diseases affect all ethnic groups. (Inflammatory Myopathies, 2013) Out of approximately 100,000 people, 5-10 suffer from a 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 could be body aches, cramps, stiffness, tenderness like the tingling you may feel when your muscles fall asleep, and a feeling of tightness. Some normal activities would be difficult for someone with myopathy to perform, such as walking up and down stairs or even around the house. Diagnoses are usually performed by a neuromuscular specialist. Generally, a diagnosis involves several outpatient tests to determine the specific type of myopathy. In some cases, you have to wait...half of the document...similar even though they were all different. Works Cited NINDS Myopathy Information Page. (2014, April 16). Myopathy information page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myopathy/myopathy.htmSwierzewski, III, MD, SJ (2010, September 14). Diagnosis of myopathy. Myopathies. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.healthcommunities.com/myopathies/diagnosis.shtmlPerkins expert helps revolutionize world's view of disease. (2014, January 1). 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 (2013, January 1). Inflammatory myopathies. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from http://www.rheumatology.org/Practice/Clinical/Patients/Disseases_And_Conditions/Inflammatory_Myopathies/