Nerve Conditions Which Damage Muscles
Conditions affecting nerves tend to lead to true muscle weakness. This is because if the nerve to a muscle fibre stops working, the muscle fibre can’t work either and it will become floppy and eventually shrivel.
Neurological conditions: muscle weakness can be caused by cerebrovascular disease such as stroke and brain haemorrhage and spinal injury. Tumours in the brain can also lead to muscle weakness. Muscles which become partially or completely paralysed lose their normal strength and will eventually waste. Some recovery is possible but it will be slow and may not be complete.
Spine-related conditions: when nerves are damaged as they emerge from the spine , weakness can result. When the discs slip out, they press on nerves headed lower down in the body. The weakness affects only the muscles served by the irritated or compressed nerve.
Other uncommon nerve conditions:Multiple sclerosis : this is caused by damage to nerves in the brain and spinal cord and can cause sudden paralysis. This can recover partially but does not always do so.
Guillain-Barré syndrome: this is a post-viral paralysing disease which causes weakness and loss of muscle function from the fingers and toes upwards. It may last many months, although complete recovery is usual.
Stay Away From Refined Or Processed Foods
You should focus on eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid eating processed and packaged snack foods, which contain food additives that are often not rigorously tested enough to determine safety of long-term consumption. Some food additives are classified as excitotoxins, which may trigger or perpetuate fibromyalgia symptoms. Its also a good idea to limit white carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, and rice, as well as sugary foods, sweets, and sweetened beverages. These refined carbohydrates cause an increase in blood sugar with a resulting insulin spike that may also exacerbate symptoms. Focus on whole grains and complex carbohydrates that provide fiber, minerals, and vitamins.
It can be challenging to find the energy necessary to cook and prepare healthy foods when you have fibromyalgia. But its important to eat well to keep your body healthy and your energy levels up. Look for steamer bags of vegetables in the produce and freezer sections of grocery stores, and bagged salads. These options help to cut down on the time required to wash, prep, and prepare produce, and may help you consume it more often.
Last medically reviewed on March 4, 2016
What Are The Causes Of Muscle Weakness
Muscle weakness is commonly due to lack of exercise, ageing, muscle injury or pregnancy. It can also occur with long-term conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. There are many other possible causes, which include stroke, multiple sclerosis, depression, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome .
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Common Causes Of Body Aches
Body aches can be a cause of both short-term ailments and long-term conditions. Healthy people may experience body aches after standing, walking, or exercising for a prolonged period of time. In others, body aches are a sign of an underlying medical condition or infection.
Common causes of body aches include:
What Is Chronic Pain
Pain is a signal to the body that something is wrong. In general, there are two classifications for pain acute and chronic. Acute pain is a signal that something is presently wrong, such as with an injury, while chronic pain is long-term and sometimes lasts weeks, months or years. Generally, healthcare providers classify pain as chronic if it lasts six months or longer.
Conditions that might lead to chronic pain include:
Chronic pain may also develop without a strict identifying cause. It is more common in older adults, with women reporting more chronic pain than men since they are more susceptible to many conditions that cause chronic pain.
Suffering long-term chronic pain can lead to:
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Q: How Is Pots Treated
A: Treatment plans for POTS may include the following:
- Multidisciplinary patient education, including shared medical appointments.
- Self-help tools for patients to use to improve their body through diet and exercise .
The good news is that several wellness tools have proven much more effective in managing POTS than expensive supplements.
Problems With Thinking Memory And Concentration
If you have ME/CFS, it’s also common to have:
- problems remembering certain words, names or numbers
- difficulty concentrating or difficulty focusing on more than one thing at a time
- problems remembering things that happened recently
- being slow to speak or react to things
These problems are sometimes described “brain fog”.
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Children Young People And Me/cfs
ME/CFS can affect people of all ages, including the very young. Young people with ME/CFS, especially children under the age of ten, might have trouble knowing or articulating that something is wrong. They may not realise that their loss of stamina, or other symptoms they are experiencing, are not normal. Alternatively, they may not have the words to describe what they are feeling.
For both younger children and teenagers, schooling can be affected but ME/CFS is not school refusal. While school refusal can often be accompanied by physical complaints , and these complaints may tend to disappear when the young person stays home, the pattern is different with ME/CFS. In a young person with ME/CFS, some symptoms never ease and symptom exacerbation is triggered by activity. In ME/CFS, symptoms are likely to be worse after school attendance, and can reduce with pacing and rest, which includes time away from school or during holidays.
Some young people with ME/CFS can continue to attend school, and others may be too unwell for regular classroom attendance. Parents, healthcare providers, schools and the child or teenager need to work together to come up with a plan for the young persons continued education. This plan needs to take into account the energy limits of ME/CFS. Being creative and flexible is key and might include things like fewer subjects or school from home.
Six Possible Causes Of Body Aches And Fatigue: What To Know
Are you wondering why you are experiencing body aches and fatigue at the same time? Generally, body aches are common. When a person suffers from this, he or she can also experience other symptoms, such as pain in a particular body area, cold and flu-like symptoms, and fatigue. Hence, body aches and fatigue usually come together. Sometimes, these may also bring some dental pain. If that happens, you can visit Advanced Dental Care Dubbos services.
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Conditions Affecting Brain ‘drive’ To Muscles
Anxiety: generalised tiredness can be caused by anxiety. This is due to overactivity of the body’s adrenaline system.
Depression: general weariness and a feeling of generalised tiredness can also be caused by depression.
Note: anxiety and depression are both conditions which tend to cause a sense of tiredness and ‘fatigability’ rather than true weakness.
Chronic pain: a general effect on energy levels can result from chronic pain. Like anxiety, it stimulates the production of chemical substances in the body which respond to pain and injury. These chemicals lead to feelings of tiredness or fatigue. In chronic pain, true weakness can result, as muscles may not be used due to pain and discomfort.
Dealing With Pain And Fatigue
To manage both pain and fatigue, here are some top tips.
Eat well nutrients like magnesium are helpful for both pain and energy levels. You’ll find this in a selection of fresh foods such as spinach, banana and pumpkin seeds.
Address pain severe pain may need to be managed by a doctor. A physical therapist may also be able to recommend specific exercises to help with your issues. Additionally, you could turn to natural remedies. Arnica Gel is one I often recommend applying before you go to bed at night to help with achiness or discomfort.
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Diagnosis And Treatment For Me/cfs
Currently, there is no single test to diagnose ME/CFS. Doctors make a diagnosis by excluding all other illnesses that might be causing symptoms and following accepted diagnostic criteria. The persons results from routine medical tests will often be normal, but additional tests may show abnormalities.
How Will Me/cfs Affect My Quality Of Life
Not everyone will experience the same symptoms so itâs important not to compare people with ME/CFS. People with ME/CFS can have very different experiences of the condition and how long their symptoms last.
The impact of symptoms can be:
As symptoms change over time so does the impact they have on peopleâs lives.
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Is There A Connection Between Pain And Fatigue
If you suffer from chronic pain and find yourself constantly tired to the point where it interferes with your daily life you may wonder if theres a connection between your chronic pain and tiredness. Many studies that have sought out the causes of chronic fatigue find that those who experience long-term fatigue often suffer from conditions that cause chronic pain.
One study determined that, among those with chronic pain and diseases, there is a high prevalence of severe and chronic fatigue. Furthermore, the study showed that those suffering from multiple chronic conditions are more likely to experience chronic fatigue.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes widespread musculoskeletal pain. Researchers often look at this condition when determining the connection between chronic pain and fatigue because patients with fibromyalgia often experience lasting fatigue in addition to their chronic pain.
Joint Pain And Fatigue What Could Be The Possibilities
Fatigue is usually characterized by extreme tiredness that even rest and relaxation cannot cure. A number of factors are responsible for fatigue, including conditions that cause joint pain.
It is important to note that different people have different pain thresholds. However, constant pain brought on by sore or damaged joints cause fatigue in most people. The diseases responsible for fatigue as a result of joint pain include fibromyalgia, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Joints can swell or become inflamed while performing certain activities. It can also lead to a chronic condition. The physical and emotional energy required to relieve the joint pain and continue with everyday activities tends to contribute to the fatigue. Painful joints will also prevent a patient from getting a good nights rest. Without good sleep, fatigue will be a natural consequence.
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How Does Chronic Fatigue Impact A Persons Life
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS is severe fatigue that lasts for six months or more. Even during resting periods, it may not treat a person diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Hence, this complex medical illness often relies on treating the symptoms rather than the disease itself. This disorder is also called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or ME/CFS, which may disable a person altogether. There are significant consequences of overlooking the symptoms of chronic fatigue. Mostly, there are times when fatigue may look like daytime tiredness or sleepiness. Yet, the first sign of continuous pain and lethargy needs a general physician for further examination and diagnosis.
How Is Fibromyalgia Treated
There’s no cure for fibromyalgia. But treatment can help manage symptoms, ease pain, and improve a person’s overall health and quality of life. Treatments include lifestyle changes and medicines.
Doctors usually ask people to start with lifestyle changes before turning to medicines. Changes doctors may recommend include:
- Regular exercise. Exercise may increase pain at first, but it can help make things better when done gradually and regularly. Some people get help from a physical therapist. Stretching and relaxation exercises can also help.
- Stress-relief methods. These can include yoga, t’ai chi, and other disciplines, as well as light massage, breathing exercises, and acupuncture.
- More sleep. Getting enough sleep is one of the most effective ways to treat fibromyalgia. It can help to avoid caffeine, sugary beverages, and sugary snacks late in the day. It can also help to go to bed and get up at the same time each day and limit napping during the daytime.
- Healthy lifestyle choices. Eating healthy foods can help with fibromyalgia. Doing things you love can help too. Hobbies and other activities not only make people feel good about themselves, they also can distract them from the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
If lifestyle changes don’t help on their own, a doctor may prescribe medicines such as:
- antidepressants: some can ease pain and tiredness, and help with sleep
- anti-seizure medicines: some medicines used to treat epilepsy also can treat fibromyalgia symptoms
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What Is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome is a complex and disabling disease. It has been classified as a neurological disorder by the World Health Organization, though it affects many parts of the body, including the brain and muscles, digestive, immune and cardiac systems.
The term myalgic encephalomyelitis means pain in the muscles, and inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. Scientists are starting to understand some of the biological changes in the bodies of people with ME/CFS, although they have not yet found how to prevent, or cure it.
Research has found that ME/CFS is associated with problems involving:
- The bodys ability to produce energy at a cellular level
- Immune, neurological and hormonal systems
- Blood pressure and heart rate regulation
- Cognition how quickly information is processed
ME/CFS affects men, women and children of all ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. 75-80% of people with the disease are female. It is estimated that up to 600,000 Victorians may be living with ME/CFS, and as many as 90% are undiagnosed.
How Diabetes Causes Pain
Diabetes causes pain by damaging tiny blood vessels all over the body due to sugar accumulation within arteries. Around 20 to 60 percent of diabetes patients report chronic pain to their physicians. Diabetes patients are also prone to back, neck, and joint pain, as well as abdominal pain caused by damage to the nerves in the gut.
Peripheral neuropathy is another common pain for those with diabetes to experience. This is when poor circulation causes pain, numbness, and tingling in the hands and feet. If not treated by regulating blood sugar levels, neuropathy can lead to tissue death and amputation.
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Tips For Exercising Safely With Me/cfs
If you feel you can tolerate some exercise, be guided by your doctor or specialist, but general suggestions include:
- Experiment to find the type of exercise that works best for you. Choose from a range of gentle activities such as stretching, yoga, tai chi, walking and light weight training. Often, people find exercises lying down use less energy.
- Keep an activity diary so you have a long-term picture of your performance levels and factors that might impact on your symptoms. Some people with ME/CFS find they feel good straight after exercise, but then crash later on, so make sure you monitor how you feel, hours to days after exercise.
- Stop the physical activity well before you feel any symptom flare. Pacing yourself is very important.
- Remember that the amount of exercise you can do will change from one day to the next.
- Listen to your body if you dont feel up to exercising on a particular day, dont.
- Find out as much as you can about your ME/CFS. Make sure you consult with health professionals who fully understand ME/CFS as a biomedical disease
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K Health articles are all written and reviewed by MDs, PhDs, NPs, or PharmDs and are for informational purposes only. This information does not constitute and should not be relied on for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment.
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What Is The Difference Between Fibromyalgia And Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Myofascial pain syndrome is similar to fibromyalgia, but there are important differences in symptoms and treatment. One big difference is that myosfascial pain is confined to a specific area and is associated with trigger points. For more information, see the Made for This Moment myofascial pain syndrome page.
A person can have both fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome. That makes it especially important to consult with a medical specialist who can diagnose the difference and apply the proper treatments for each condition.
Conditions Of Muscle Inflammation
Inflammatory diseases of muscle typically affect older adults and include conditions such as polymyalgia rheumatica , polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Some of these conditions respond well to steroids . Unfortunately, as explained above, steroids also cause muscle wasting and weakness.
Conditions of generalised tissue inflammation such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis can cause muscle weakness. In a small proportion of cases of rheumatoid arthritis, muscle weakness and tiredness may be the only sign of the disease for some considerable time.
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Muscle Damage Through Injury
There are many ways in which your muscles can be directly damaged. The most obvious is injury or trauma such as sporting injuries, pulls and sprains. In any muscle injury, bleeding from damaged muscle fibres occurs inside the muscle, followed by swelling and inflammation. This makes the muscle less strong and also painful to use. Localised pain is the primary symptom but weakness also results.
