How to Treat Muscle Weakness

Muscle weakness is a lack of muscle strength. Its causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have either true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a variety of skeletal muscle diseases, including muscular dystrophy and inflammatory myopathy. It occurs in neuromuscular junction disorders, such as myasthenia gravis. Muscle weakness can also be caused by low levels of potassium and other electrolytes within muscle cells. It can be temporary or long-lasting (from seconds or minutes to months or years). Having considered all the symptoms and causes, Siddha Spirituality of Swami Hardas Life System brings out all the options of treatment for well-being.

Muscle weakness Meaning

Muscle weakness happens when your full effort doesn’t produce a normal muscle contraction or movement. It’s sometimes called:  reduced muscle strength, muscular weakness, or weak muscles.

Muscle weakness Symptoms

Isolated weakness

If you feel weak in one area of your body, you may find that you can’t move that part of your body efficiently. You may also experience:

• The delayed or slow movement
• Uncontrollable shaking, or tremors
• Muscle twitching
• Muscle cramps

Full-body weakness

Full-body weakness causes you to feel run down, similar to the feeling you get when you have the flu. This is known as fatigue, but it’s also possible to experience full-body weakness without feeling tired.

Some people who experience full-body weakness also experience:

• Fever
• Flu-like symptoms
• Pain in the affected area

Emergency symptoms

You should contact your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Confusion
• Difficulty speaking
• Changes in vision
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing

Muscle weakness Causes

Many health conditions can cause muscle weakness, the examples include:

• Neuromuscular disorders, such as muscular dystrophies, multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Autoimmune diseases, such as Graves’ disease, myasthenia gravis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Thyroid conditions, such as hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism
• Electrolyte imbalances, such as hypokalemia (potassium deficiency), hypomagnesemia (magnesium deficiency), and hypercalcemia (elevated calcium in your blood)

Other conditions

Other conditions that may cause muscle weakness to 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

Complications from certain viruses

Muscle weakness can also be caused by complications from certain viruses and infections, including:

• Polio
• West Nile virus
• Rheumatic fever

Botulism, a rare and serious illness caused by Clostridium botulinum bacteria, can also lead to muscle weakness.

Prolonged use of certain drugs may also result in muscle weakness e.g. statins and other lipid-lowering agents, antiarrhythmic drugs, such as amiodarone or procainamide, corticosteroids, and colchicine, which is used to treat gout.

Muscle weakness Pathophysiology

Detecting a flow of electrical impulses

Muscle cells work by detecting a flow of electrical impulses from the brain which signals them to contract through the release of calcium by the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Fatigue may occur due to the nerve, or within the muscle cells themselves. New research from scientists at Columbia University suggests that muscle fatigue is caused by calcium leaking out of the muscle cell. This causes there to be less calcium available for the muscle cell. 

Muscular contractions

Substrates within the muscle generally serve to power muscular contractions. They include molecules such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), glycogen, and creatine phosphate. ATP binds to the myosin head and causes ‘ratcheting that results in contraction according to the sliding filament model. Creatine phosphate stores energy so ATP can be rapidly regenerated within the muscle cells from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate ions, allowing for sustained powerful contractions that last between 5–7 seconds.

Metabolic fatigue

Substrates produce metabolic fatigue by being depleted during exercise, resulting in a lack of intracellular energy sources to fuel contractions. In essence, the muscle stops contracting because it lacks the energy to do so.

Muscle weakness Diagnosis

Grading pf Muscle weakness

The severity of muscle weakness can be classified into different grades based on the following criteria:

• When there is no contraction or muscle movement, the condition is known as Grade 0.
• Grade 1 includestTrace of contraction, but no movement at the joint.
• When there is np Movement at the joint with gravity eliminated, the condition is known as Grade 2.
• Grade 3 is when there is no movement against gravity, but not against added resistance.
• When there is no movement against an external resistance with less strength than usual, it is Grade 4.
• Grade 5 is identified when there is normal strength.

Muscle weakness Classification

Proximal and distal

Muscle weakness can also be classified as either proximal or distal based on the location of the muscles that it affects. Proximal muscle weakness affects muscles closest to the body’s midline, while distal muscle weakness affects muscles further out on the limbs. Proximal muscle weakness can be seen in Cushing’s syndrome and hyperthyroidism.

True and perceived

Muscle weakness can be classified as either true or perceived based on its cause.

• True muscle weakness or neuromuscular weakness describes a condition where the force exerted by the muscles is less than would be expected, for example, muscular dystrophy.
• Perceived muscle weakness or non-neuromuscular weakness describes a condition where a person feels more effort than normal is required to exert a given amount of force but actual muscle strength is normal, for example, chronic fatigue syndrome.

In some conditions, such as myasthenia gravis, muscle strength is normal when resting, but true weakness occurs after the muscle has been subjected to exercise.

Treatment options for muscle weakness

Once the cause of muscle weakness is determined, the healthcare provider will recommend the appropriate treatment. A treatment plan will depend on the underlying cause of muscle weakness, as well as the severity of symptoms.

Here are some of the treatment options for conditions that cause muscle weakness:

Physical therapy for muscle weakness

Physical therapists can suggest exercises to improve your quality of life if you have conditions such as MS or ALS. For example, a physical therapist might suggest progressive resistive exercise to help someone with MS strengthen muscles that have become weak from lack of use.

A physical therapist might recommend stretching and range of motion exercises to prevent muscle stiffness for someone with ALS.

Occupational therapy for Muscle weakness

Occupational therapists can suggest exercises to strengthen your upper body. They can also recommend assistive devices and tools to help with day-to-day activities.

Occupational therapy can be especially helpful during the stroke rehabilitation process. Therapists can recommend exercises to address weakness in one side of your body and help with motor skills.

Medication for Muscle weakness

Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, can help manage pain associated with conditions such as:

• Peripheral neuropathy
• CFS
• Neuralgia

Thyroid hormone replacement is used to treat hypothyroidism. Standard treatment usually involves taking levothyroxine (Levoxyl, Synthroid), which is a synthetic thyroid hormone.

Dietary changes

Changing your diet can help remedy electrolyte imbalances. Your healthcare provider may also suggest taking supplements, such as calcium, magnesium oxide, or potassium oxide depending on your needs.

Surgery

Surgery may be used to treat certain conditions, such as a herniated disc or hyperthyroidism.

Ayurveda for Muscle weakness

Ayurveda offers prevention and treatment of muscle weakness. Women may be asymptomatic but still be carriers of the gene for the disorder. Genetic studies can detect DMD with about 95% accuracy during pregnancy.

The ayurvedic treatment focuses on the augmentation of the Agni at the muscle tissue level. Ayurvedic treatment might slow or stop the progression of muscle weakness due to degeneration, destruction, and subsequent deformity and disability.

A combined strategy of Til-Mash-Shashtic rice-wheat bran Pinda Swedana, Anuvasana Vasti, Pizhinchal procedure using Shat Bala Prasarni oil and oral administration of Mamsagni Rasayana is effective in the long term relief of the disability due to muscle weakness.

Home remedies for Muscle weakness

Eggs

Reference:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_weakness
• https://www.healthline.com/symptom/muscle-weakness#treatment
• https://www.healthline.com/health/weakness#symptoms
• https://www.sanjivaniwellness.org/muscle-weakness-diseases-2/
• https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/home-remedies-to-treat-muscle-weakness/