There are different types of Myositis. The two most common types are polymyositis and dermatomyositis.

Symptoms of dermatomyositis:

• Pink or red rash on face, neck, back side, hands, upper arm, thighs and eyelids.
• Swelling of the affected area
• Coloring and puffiness around eyes
• rash is more likely to affect women than men
• Sometimes hard tissue builds up under the skin lumps known as calcinosis.

In dermatomyositis, muscle abnormalities may begin with aches and weakness of the muscles of the upper arms, hips, and thighs and upper body. Muscles may be stiff, sore, tender and, eventually, show signs of degeneration.

Polymyositis: Is chronic muscle inflammation accompanied by muscle weakness.  Polymyositis affects skeletal muscles. People with polymyositis can experience symptoms of arthritis, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing and speaking, and heart arrhythmias.  Sometimes distal muscles such as forearm, ankle, wrists, hips, thighs, shoulders show weakness. It can also be associated with collagen auto immune disease such as lupus of kidney.

Image credit: James Heilman, MD, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons