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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 ...
Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. [1] The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affected, the degree of weakness, how fast they worsen, and when symptoms begin. [1]
Muscle atrophy leads to muscle weakness and causes disability. Disuse causes rapid muscle atrophy and often occurs during injury or illness that requires immobilization of a limb or bed rest. Depending on the duration of disuse and the health of the individual, this may be fully reversed with activity.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy causes progressive muscle weakness due to muscle fiber disarray, death, and replacement with connective tissue or fat. [3] The voluntary muscles are affected first, especially those of the hips, pelvic area, thighs, calves.
Various patterns of muscle weakness occur in different motor neuron diseases. [6] Weakness can be symmetric or asymmetric, and it can occur in body parts that are distal, proximal, or both. According to Statland et al., there are three main weakness patterns that are seen in motor neuron diseases, which are: [6] [9]
As we age, our overall muscle mass tends to decline. After age 50, we lose an average of 1–2% of our muscle mass each year. Experts estimate that 5–13% of individuals aged 60–70 have sarcopenia.
The disorder causes muscle weakness, atrophy, and muscle spasms throughout the body due to the degeneration of the upper motor and lower motor neurons. Sensory nerves and the autonomic nervous system are generally unaffected, meaning the majority of people with ALS maintain hearing , sight , touch , smell , and taste .
Weakness comes on slowly (over months to years) in an asymmetric manner and progresses steadily, leading to severe weakness and wasting of arm and leg muscles. IBM is more common in men than women. [10] Patients may become unable to perform activities of daily living and most require assistive devices within 5 to 10 years of symptom onset.