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Myopathy is a disease of muscle in which the muscle fibers do not function properly. This results in muscular weakness. Myopathy simply means muscle disease (Greek myo- muscle + patheia < -pathy suffering). This meaning implies that the primary defect is within the muscle, as opposed to the nerves (neuropathies or neurogenic disorders) or elsewhere (e.g., the brain).
So, myopathies are a group of diseases that cause muscle weakness, cramps, and spasms due to a primary defect of the muscle fiber. The more technical term for a muscle fiber is a myocyte. Some of the myopathies a person may have are genetic in their origin. Such myopathies, arising as a result of genetic mutations, are called congenital myopathies. One famous example of a congenital myopathy is a group of conditions known as glycogen storage diseases of muscles, where the muscle is unable to process sugar molecules such as glycogen. This leads to a buildup of glycogen within the cell, causing its dysfunction.