What is the Treatment for Muscle Weakness?
Treatment of muscle weakness depends on the cause, but there are several treatments available. Most cases can be treated with rest and simple exercises to increase strength.
Stretching exercises may also help relieve pain and correct posture problems caused by weak muscles. Severely weakened muscles may require physical therapy or surgery, depending on the severity of the problem. Some people have been helped by electrical stimulation or injections into their painful areas involving nerves in their spine (epidural steroid injection).
If it does not improve, a treatment called a nerve transplant can restore motion and strength. In this surgery, one end of the injured nerve is pulled out from where it is trapped and connected to a healthy muscle or tendon within the same area. This type of surgery often allows for rapid improvement in muscle function.
What are the common causes of weak muscles?
Many different conditions may cause weakness in the arms and legs, including Traumatic injury to a nerve, which leads to a disorder known as neuropathy Spinal cord disorders that affect nerves Compression fractures, which occur when vertebrae have been weakened by osteoporosis or bone spurs Age-related loss of motor neurons (neurodegenerative disease) Inability to move as a result of a stroke, brain injury, or conditions such as Parkinson’s disease
What are common causes of loss of strength?
Inability to move as a result of a stroke, brain injury, or conditions such as Parkinson’s disease Multiple sclerosis Muscle weakness from illnesses such as muscular dystrophy Inability to use the muscles because of severe arthritis Inability to hold up one’s arms (called fatigable weakness) can be caused by certain medications (such as some blood pressure medicines), alcohol withdrawal, and advanced liver disease.
Myasthenia gravis is another disorder that interferes with communication between nerves and muscles. It may cause constant muscle weakness. Some rare disorders that can cause sudden weakness include botulism poisoning, illness, and poisoning from certain chemicals.
What are the basic causes of muscle weakness?
Muscle strength can be affected by a wide range of conditions, so it is difficult to pinpoint a single cause in every case. In most cases, there is no known cause for muscle weakness. Conditions that may contribute to muscle weakness include: Drugs and medications such as chemotherapy cancer treatments, blood pressure pills, appetite suppressants, anti-seizure medications, steroids low blood sugar in people with diabetes neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis inactivity lack of exercise Vitamin B deficiency Polymyositis Juvenile myasthenia gravis Myotonic dystrophy Spinal muscular atrophy Diabetes gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying) Diseases that affect your immune system like HIV or AIDS Cancer Alcohol abuse Malnutrition (leading to, for example, rickets) Inherited disorders including muscular dystrophy and myotonic dystrophy
What are the muscle weakness treatment options?
There are several treatments available for muscle weakness. Treatments depend on the cause of the problem. If you have possible causes such as low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) or alcohol use, ask about treatment options related to those conditions. Be sure to let doctors know if you take any medications regularly.
The following treatments may be recommended: Muscle strengthening exercises When muscles become weak, they need stretching and strengthening exercises. Specifically targeted exercises can help you resume normal activities and help you move better.
what is muscle weakness:
muscle weakness is a symptom that does not have any pathologic significance in conditions other than those affecting the nervous system.
This symptom may occur as a residual effect of muscular fatigue but is also reported along with pain and heat as a common manifestation of polymyositis, dermatomyositis, fibromyalgia syndrome, and systemic exertion intolerance disease (SEID).
Muscle weakness is also an important component of myasthenia gravis, where muscle weakness usually improves due to muscle rest/activity cycle. In addition to myasthenia gravis, muscle weakness can occur with neuropathy including diabetic neuropathy and alcoholic neuropathy.
In these conditions, the abnormal change is not due to denervation but rather to either axonal degeneration or chronic interference by the underlying disorder with nerve conduction.
Muscle weakness can be defined as a lack of physical power, resulting in difficulty in accomplishing tasks that otherwise would be easily performed. The term “weakness” should not be confused with fatigue (i.e., tiredness), which implies a reduction of energy, usually related to normal activity.
Muscle strength is the ability to exert maximum force against resistance; muscle weakness is an inability to exert expected levels of force despite the adequate voluntary effort and the absence of muscular hypertrophy.
This symptom may occur as a residual effect of muscular fatigue but is also reported along with pain and heat as a common manifestation of polymyositis, dermatomyositis, fibromyalgia syndrome, and systemic exertion intolerance disease (SEID).
Muscle weakness is also an important component of myasthenia gravis, where muscle weakness usually improves due to muscle rest/activity cycle. In addition to myasthenia gravis, muscle weakness can occur with neuropathy including diabetic neuropathy and alcoholic neuropathy.
In these conditions, the abnormal change is not due to denervation but rather to either axonal degeneration or chronic interference by the underlying disorder with nerve conduction
Muscle weakness:
There are several types of muscle weaknesses:
1) generalized muscle weakness – this type of weakness affects muscles throughout the body and signs of the condition include a drop in balance, coordination, and endurance.
2) localized muscle weakness – this type of weakness affects specific muscles or groups of muscles and can be seen alongside other symptoms including pain or tenderness, stiffness, reduced range of movement, and numbness.
3) pins and needles-like weakness – this refers to a sensation that is often described as tingling, pricking, or electrical shocks. This is not the same as pins and needles which is a common transient phenomenon due to poor blood circulation.
4) fatigue – this means tiredness that comes on with exercise e.g., after running for a bus you have no energy left to talk despite your body being able to perform its usual functions without.
5) cramp – this is a painful spasm that affects muscles and can come on suddenly.
6) drop attacks – these are sudden episodes of muscle weakness that cause someone to fall over without warning. In some cases, the sufferer may have a warning sign such as an aura.
7) delayed muscle recovery from exercise – you feel tired after exercise even though it should not have been difficult for you to do.
8) difficulty getting up from a chair
9) bulky urine – this refers to increased volume of urine being passed due to lower urinary tract obstruction e.g., bladder outflow obstruction or neurogenic bladder. Bulky urine is often accompanied by infrequent urination or dribbling (this symptom can be seen in people with diabetes and multiple sclerosis).
10) muscle twitching or fasciculations – these are sudden, uncontrolled contractions of muscles that cause visible movements under the skin. They can affect any muscle in the body but are particularly bothersome when they occur near the eyes (blepharospasm), face (lips or tongue), leg or foot (foot drop), neck, arm or hand (cervical dystonia), and voice box (spasmodic dysphonia).
Muscle weakness in arms:
1) an inability to do tasks that require both arms together e.g., hair brushing,
2) difficulty holding something in the hands e.g., cannot hold a pen for more than 10 seconds,
3) overall weakness of the arms which may prevent you from lifting objects or rising from a low seat unaided,
4) muscle cramps: these are painful spasms usually affecting one or more muscles. A cramp can affect any muscle group but is most common in the legs (calf cramp), feet (foot cramp), hands, and fingers (writer’s cramp). Along with pain, there is often twitching and contractions of the affected muscles. They sometimes occur at night during sleep (nocturnal cramp).
Muscle weakness differential diagnosis:
Neuromuscular Causes
1)Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
2)Familial periodic paralysis
3)Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy.
4)Inclusion body myositis
5)Ion-channel disorders (e.g., hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, hypokalemic periodic paralysis, paramyotonia congenital, and thyroid hormones resistance syndromes such as Liddle syndrome and tuberous sclerosis complex).
6)Lower motor neuron lesions affecting the cervicomedullary junction (e.g., encephalitis, poliomyelitis; vertebral artery dissection; brainstem tumor; multiple sclerosis; miliary tuberculosis or carcinomatous meningitis); anterior horn cell lesions.
Body weakness symptoms:
Muscle weakness in legs:
1) reduced muscle strength:
this means that the affected person has less force (strength) available to move a limb or body part. There may be some pain, tenderness, or swelling in the muscles concerned. The patient should also have difficulty performing everyday tasks involving the limbs because of their weakened state e.g., opening jars, climbing stairs, etc.
2) loss of control over movement:
the person may be unable to hold objects like cups or brushes firmly enough or to walk steadily without stumbling or falling easily because they can’t coordinate different parts of their leg movements together e.g., ankle and knee movements during walking.
3) troubled coordination:
there is an inability to perform precisely, rapid movements e.g., buttoning a shirt or writing.
4) muscle cramps:
these are painful spasms usually affecting one or more muscles. A cramp can affect any muscle group but is most common in the legs (calf cramp), feet (foot cramp), hands, and fingers (writer’s cramp). Along with pain, there is often twitching and contractions of the affected muscles. They sometimes occur at night during sleep (nocturnal cramp).
5) muscle weakness upon wakening:
this may be a problem every morning to some degree or just occasionally on certain days e.g., when feeling tired or worn out after over-exertion the day before.
6) aches and pains:
you may experience pain, tenderness, or stiffness in the muscles e.g., prolonged exercise or doing too much too soon (e.g., trying to walk long distances the first day of a holiday).
7) burning pains:
these are felt as sharp pin-pricks that often cause the person to jump and slightly collapse. They occur mainly in muscle tissue but can also be felt in tendons (the tough bands of fibrous tissue that join bones to muscle), ligaments (bands of fibrous tissue that attach bone to bone at joints), and skin – especially over bony prominences such as the elbows, knees, and heels.