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Malnutrition first causes fat loss but may progress to muscle atrophy in prolonged starvation and can be reversed with nutritional therapy. In contrast, cachexia is a wasting syndrome caused by an underlying disease such as cancer that causes dramatic muscle atrophy and cannot be completely reversed with nutritional therapy.
Reflex syncope can occur in otherwise healthy individuals, and has many possible causes, often trivial ones such as prolonged standing with the legs locked. [ citation needed ] The main danger of vasovagal syncope (or dizzy spells from vertigo) is the risk of injury by falling while unconscious.
These processes cause the typical symptoms of fainting: pale skin, rapid breathing, nausea, and weakness of the limbs, particularly of the legs. [3] If the ischemia is intense or prolonged, limb weakness progresses to collapse. [3] The weakness of the legs causes most people to sit or lie down if there is time to do so.
Gravity will pull the blood back into an individual's legs, ankles and feet. This forces the veins to expand or "balloon" to accommodate this extra blood. The valves of the veins work best in concert with accompanying muscle contractions that force the blood to continue moving up the leg. Standing with some muscles constantly strained weakens ...
Restless legs syndrome (RLS), (also known as Willis–Ekbom disease (WED), is a neurological disorder, usually chronic, that causes an overwhelming urge to move one's legs. [ 2 ] [ 10 ] There is often an unpleasant feeling in the legs that improves temporarily by moving them. [ 2 ]
Rhabdomyolysis (shortened as rhabdo) is a condition in which damaged skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly, often due to high intensity exercise over a short period. [6] [4] [5] Symptoms may include muscle pains, weakness, vomiting, and confusion.
Apart from treating underlying reversible causes (e.g., stopping or reducing certain medications, treating autoimmune causes), several measures can improve the symptoms of orthostatic hypotension and prevent episodes of syncope (fainting). Even small increases in the blood pressure may be sufficient to maintain blood flow to the brain on standing.
Blount's disease is an important differential diagnosis because it causes knee deformities in a similar fashion to rickets namely bow legs or genu varum. Infants with rickets can have bone fractures. This sometimes leads to child abuse allegations.