Muscle Weakness-Causes and Problems
As we start another new month, our focus will be on muscle weakness. Most people experience muscle weakness at sometime in their lives but it may be rather benign conditions like working out too hard one day and the next day or 2 having difficulty doing stairs or walking. It may be a sign of a more serious condition like Multiple Sclerosis for example.
Muscle weakness is defined as a weakness in one or more muscles that causes the muscle to not work appropriately or Reduction in the power exerted by muscles resulting in an inability to perform a given task on first attempt.
There can be many causes of muscle weakness including :
Muscular dystrophies, Multiple Sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS ) Lou Gehrig's disease.
• autoimmune diseases such as Grave's disease, myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre syndrome
• thyroid conditions, such as hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism
• electrolyte imbalances, like hypokalemia (potassium deficiency), hypomagnesemia (magnesium deficiency), and hypercalcemia (elevated calcium in your blood)
Other conditions that may cause muscle weakness include: • stroke • herniated disc • chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) • hypotonia, a lack of muscle tone that’s usually present at birth • peripheral neuropathy, a type of nerve damage • neuralgia, or sharp burning or pain following the path of one or more nerves. • polymyositis, or chronic muscle inflammation
• prolonged bed rest or immobilization • alcoholism, which can cause alcoholic myopathy
swelling of a joint that can directly affect the muscles that move that joint basically shutting them down. If you don't use it, you lose it!
Muscle weakness can also be caused by complications from certain viruses and infections,including: • polio • West Nile virus • rheumatic fever
Prolonged use of certain drugs can cause muscle weakness such as:
Statins for cholesterol
corticosteroids like Prednisone
antiarrhythmic drugs like amiodarone
Colchicine for treating gout
Diagnosing the underlying cause of the muscle may be through several different tests such as:
CT scan of MRI of the muscles and inner structures of the body and brain
NCV (Nerve conduction Velocity) to see how the nerves are working
Electromyography that tests how the nerves are working in the muscle themselves.
Blood tests to rule out infections and other conditions.
These are some reasons we experience muscle weakness. Stay tuned for why and how do we treat muscle weakness in the next few weeks throughout March.
https://www.healthline.com/health/muscle-weakness#diagnosis