Hip and shoulder muscles are most likely to be involved. Other muscles sometimes affected are those in the front of the neck, making it difficult to raise your head when lying down. Occasionally, other neck and throat muscles are affected, making it hard for some people to swallow, sing, or even speak clearly. If your chest muscles or lungs are affected, you may have trouble breathing. Many people with myositis learn ways of compensating, however, and adjust so well that even they are not aware of the slow, gradual, progression of their disease.
Some people have puffy eyelids, wrists, or hands as a result of myositis.
A person with myositis also may develop a rash around the base of the fingernails, overgrowth of the cuticle, or cracking and bleeding of the skin on the sides and tips of the fingers. It sometimes is very difficult to tell whether the joints or the muscles between the joints are causing pain and problems for people with myositis. Sometimes Raynaud's phenomenon develops. This is an extreme sensitivity and reaction to cold that is most often felt in the fingers. Raynaud's phenomenon is caused by a narrowing of the blood vessels in the fingers, which reduces blood flow and turns the fingers white and then gradually blue.