Expert Explains Possible Causes Of Muscle Weakness Or Leg Fatigue
- 24 Mar 2021, 10:16 IST
Pain or fatigue in the legs is a very common symptom, which can be caused by various underlying factors. You may have an increased risk for leg fatigue if youre female, overweight, or older.
This happens because the lower body carries the weight of the upper body. You must have experienced that sitting or standing for a long time can cause the legs to feel tired and heavy. A variety of underlying factors can also cause leg discomfort.
To understand this better HerZindagi exclusively spoke to Dr Santosh B Patil, who is a consultant Neuro and Vascular Interventional Radiologist at The Vein Center
Pain, soreness, or cramping, leg fatigue may be accompanied by any of the following factors. Leg fatigue isnt usually a cause for a major health concern, but its still significant that you pay attention to your body when fatigue occurs. Especially if you have other symptoms, said Dr Patil and explained some possible causes for leg fatigue:
How Is A Pots Diagnosis Made
Problems with the autonomic nervous system can be difficult to diagnose. The standard test for POTS is the tilt table test. During the test, you are secured to a table that tilts from being horizontal to almost a 90-degree angle. The test measures your hearts response to switching from laying down to standing up. Some people with POTS faint during this test, even if they rarely faint standing up.
Although the test seems straightforward, many things can interfere with it. Its important that a POTS specialist oversees it. Its best to work with a doctor who has diagnosed and treated patients with POTS. This could be a cardiologist, a neuromuscular specialist or another doctor.
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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Bacteria called R. rickettsii cause it, and a tick bite is usually how you get it. Most of the symptoms are flu-like â fever, chills, headache, nausea, insomnia, and muscle aches. A rash that doesnât itch can show up on your wrists and ankles after a few days, then spread. Antibiotics treat it, and the sooner you take them, the better. If not treated, it can lead to inflammation in your lungs, heart, and brain, then kidney failure.
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Myth: Cool Air Can Keep You Awake
Blasting your AC or opening the window may keep you cool, but this does little to counteract drowsiness. Think of how well people sleep on cold winter nights. In fact, keeping your room cool is a commonly given tip for getting better sleep. Playing loud music is also useless in fighting driver fatigue.
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Molecular Receptors That Are Activated By Metabolites Produced By Muscle Contraction
Major advances have been made in the last 10 years in identifying metabolites produced by muscle contraction. The most likely ion channels to detect pH changes, acid-sensing ion channels , also called amiloride-sensitive ion channels or amiloride-sensitive ion currents, were cloned and sequenced in 1997 . However, initially it appeared that these channels could not play a role in detecting the normal pH values found in humans. They could not gate enough current to activate sensory endings with the small changes in pH observed in conditions known to cause muscle pain in humans, for example, a pH change from 7.4 to 7.0 that can trigger angina in the heart. showed that lactate played a role in enhancing the response of ASICs to pH values between pH 7.4 and 7.0. Thus, lactic acid, at concentrations produced during ischemia and extreme active muscle contractions, was more effective in activating muscle sensory afferents than pH reduction alone, as produced by non-ischemic events .
Later, another critical co-factor was found. ATP in the low concentrations found in muscle interstitium during normal muscle contractions greatly enhanced the sensitivity of ASICs to pH and lactate . Altogether, these combinations enable the ASIC3 receptor to gate sustained current in a range from pH 7.66.6 that is capable of activating sensory endings.
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Can Diabetes Cause Fatigue Body Ache
Asked by Mike, Tennessee
Can diabetes be a cause of fatigue, leg and lower back aches? I have had bursts of energy for 10 to 15 minutes, but then need to sit for about 10 minutes, and I’m ready to go full steam again. PLEASE, Thank You, Mike
Conditions ExpertDr. Otis BrawleyChief Medical Officer,American Cancer Society
Treatments For Muscle Fatigue
When muscle fatigue is the result of strenuous activity or aging, treatment is usually unnecessary. In other cases, a doctor will try to identify the underlying cause of muscle fatigue and offer treatment.
An example of this is when a doctor recommends a healthy diet and regular exercise if obesity is causing muscle fatigue. As a person loses weight, they should notice their muscle fatigue getting better over time.
There are no formal guidelines for treating muscle fatigue as a symptom. But there are several possibilities for people experiencing muscle fatigue from strenuous activity or aging.
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Food Allergies Food Intolerance And Fatigue
Symptoms: Fatigue, sleepiness, continued exhaustion
Although food is supposed to give you energy, medical research suggests that hidden food intolerances — or allergies — can do the opposite. In fact, fatigue may be an early warning sign of food intolerance or food allergy. Celiac disease, which happens when you canââ¬â¢t digest gluten, may also cause fatigue.
Ask your doctor about the elimination diet. This is a diet in which you cut out certain foods linked to a variety of symptoms, including sleepiness within 10 to 30 minutes of eating them, for a certain period of time to see if that makes a difference. You can also talk to your doctor about a food allergy test — or invest in a home test such as ALCAT — which may help you identify the offending foods.
Allergies Hay Fever And Fatigue
Symptoms: Fatigue, headache, itchiness, nasal congestion, and drainage
Allergic rhinitis is a common cause of chronic fatigue. But allergic rhinitis often can be easily treated and self-managed. To make a diagnosis, your doctor will assess your symptoms. The doctor will also find out, through a detailed history or testing, whether your allergies are triggered by pollens, insects , animal dander, molds and mildew, weather changes, or something else.
One way to reduce symptoms of allergic rhinitis — including fatigue — is to take steps to avoid the offending allergen. In addition, proper medication can help with symptoms. Drugs that might help include:
- Leukotriene modifiers
- Mast cell stabilizers
Allergy shots — immunotherapy — may help in severe cases. This treatment involves weekly shots of increasingly higher solutions of the offending allergens. Allergy shots take time to be effective and are usually administered over a period of 3 to 5 years.
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Is Pots More Common In Certain People
There are no established risk factors for POTS. However, it is known to run in families, so it could have a genetic component. Researchers have also established a link between POTS and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome . So if you have one of these conditions, you might also have the other.
A big group of those diagnosed with POTS is young women and teens. However, this doesnt mean they are more likely to develop this condition.
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.
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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.
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Pacing Activity For People With Me/cfs
Pacing, or keeping within your available energy, is a self-management strategy to help people with ME/CFS make sure that they dont overdo activity or exercise. It reduces the likelihood of triggering PEM and can help reduce symptoms. Pacing is not a cure for ME/CFS and does not treat the underlying, physical cause of the disease.
The goal of pacing is for activity to be sustainable, so that the person can have some stability in their symptoms and what they can do each day. Pacing should be used in conjunction with rest.
The most challenging aspect of pacing is that PEM is very often delayed by as much as 24-48 hours, which can make it difficult to recognise when youve done too much. Using tools like an activity diary or heart rate monitor help you learn about your body and how much activity you can safely tolerate.
Suggestions on how to pace yourself include:
What Causes Extreme Muscle And Joint Pain
Tension, chronic stress, and minor injuries can result in extreme muscle and joint pain. This type of pain is usually localized and can affect a few parts of the body at the same time.
Conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, bursitis, strains, and gout can also lead to painful joints.
According to the latest research, joint pain is pretty common in adults. Every fourth person reports having it. If you are one of them, here is what you need to know about muscle pain and its treatment:
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When Is Fatigue Considered Extreme
There is no good criteria for assessing the level of fatigue it depends on the person. However, most people know when their tiredness is more than a lack of sleep. Some of my patients remember the exact day they got hit with fatigue so overwhelming that they knew something was wrong.
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
POTS is a common condition affecting an estimated one to three million Americans. Researchers dont fully understand the causes of POTS, but it is more common in women than men and is more likely to develop in adolescents and young adults.
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Causes Of Back Pain And Fatigue
There can be various underlying reasons for back pain. Usually, lower back pain can be caused when soft tissues become injured. A damaged disc, nerve compression, improper spinal joint movement, stretched muscles, torn or damaged muscles, all become a reason for lower back pain, which then becomes the cause for increasing fatigue.
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Primary Or True Muscle Weakness
This shows itself as an inability to perform what you want to do with a muscle, even the first time you try. There is a reduction in the force which the muscle can exert, however hard you try. The muscle is not working properly – it has become abnormal.
When this kind of weakness occurs the muscles are often floppier than usual and reduced in bulkiness. It can happen, for example, following stroke. It is also seen in a condition called muscular dystrophy . Both of these conditions result in weakened muscles which cannot move the usual load. It’s a real change in muscle power.
Underactive Thyroid And Fatigue
Symptoms: Extreme fatigue, sluggishness, feeling run-down, depression, cold intolerance, weight gain
The problem may be a slow or underactive thyroid. This is known as hypothyroidism. The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland that sits at the base of your neck. It helps set the rate of metabolism, which is the rate at which the body uses energy.
According to the American Thyroid Foundation, about 17% of all women will have a thyroid disorder by age 60. And most won’t know it. The most common cause is an autoimmune disorder known as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s stops the gland from making enough thyroid hormones for the body to work the way it should. The result is hypothyroidism, or a slow metabolism.
Blood tests known as T3 and T4 will detect thyroid hormones. If these hormones are low, synthetic hormones can bring you up to speed, and you should begin to feel better fairly rapidly.
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What Happens When Someone Has Fibromyalgia
Teens with fibromyalgia may:
- have pain throughout their bodies. Usually, its dull or burning, but it can be more of a shooting or throbbing pain.
- get many headaches
- feel very tired or have little energy. Because of this, fibromyalgia might be confused with chronic fatigue syndrome. Sometimes people can have both conditions.
Most teens with fibromyalgia also have trouble sleeping. They may wake up often during the night and feel exhausted in the morning. They also can have problems like restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea, which can add to their sleep problems.
People with fibromyalgia might notice problems with memory or concentration. Some may be anxious or depressed. Some also have irritable bowel syndrome, a kind of digestive problem.
After a while, people might notice that certain things make their pain and other symptoms worse. For some, it might be stress. For others, it could be cold, damp weather. Everyoneâs different.
Sympathetic Dysregulation Contributes To Enhanced Sensory Fatigue
The muscle sensory afferents that may encode sensory muscle fatigue have been linked to sympathetic responses caused by muscle contraction for at least 70 years . Thus, sensory fatigue afferents may be the sensory arm of sympathetic reflexes associated with muscle contraction. These reflexes normally serve to increase the blood flow to working muscles partly by diverting blood flow from non-working muscles. This increased blood flow serves to reduce metabolites, terminating the signals underlying sensory muscle fatigue. The sympathetic output signal is mediated by adrenergic 2 receptors on vascular smooth muscle in the working muscle and by adrenergic receptors in non-working muscles, and by adrenergic 1 receptors in heart muscle.
When you have cancer, the following factors can cause muscle aches:
Cancer. Certain types of cancer are more likely to cause muscle aches, including:
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Tumors that start in a muscle, such as some kinds of soft-tissue sarcoma
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Tumors that press against a muscle
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Cancers that cause the body to make too many white blood cells, such as certain types of leukemia
Cancer treatments. When treatment ends, muscle aches usually go away. In some cases, muscle aches can be a late effect, happening months or years after treatment ends.
Treatments that may cause muscle aches include:
Other medications. Medicine for cancer-related symptoms or other conditions can cause muscle aches. Some examples include:
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