What is Muscle Fatigue

What does "healthy" mean? It depends on who you ask. The way you view health depends on many factors including where you live, your age, sex, race, and ethnicity, how much education or money your have, and traits you inherit from your parents. The word "health" originates from the same root as theword "whole." Some people see health as a goal; others see it as a process.

Health can simply mean freedom from disease. It can also have a more holistic meaning- from what you eat, to where you live, to what you believe. Personal beliefs and life experiences weigh heavily on our ideas about health. External influences such as family, friends, television, movies and advertisements also shape our definitions of health.

Muscular symptoms that may occur along with muscle weakness
Muscle weakness may accompany other symptoms affecting the muscles including:
• Burning feeling
• Loss of muscle coordination
• Muscle spasms
• Pain
• Paralysis
• Pins-and-needles (prickling) sensation
• Twitching

What causes muscle weakness?
Muscle weakness is a decrease in muscle strength, and it can be caused by a neurologic, muscular or metabolic disorder. Neurologic disorders causing muscle weakness include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), Guillain-Barre syndrome (an autoimmune nerve disorder), stroke, or even a pinched nerve.
Muscular disorders, such as muscular dystrophy and dermatomyositis, are also common causes of muscular weakness. Metabolic conditions that can lead to weakness include Addison’s disease, low sodium or potassium levels, and hyperparathyroidism. Ingestion of toxic substance, such as insecticides, nerve gas, or paralytic shellfish poisoning, can cause muscle or nerve damage along with muscle weakness. Muscle weakness can also result from blood disorders, such as anemia and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).

Metabolic causes of muscle weakness
Muscle weakness may have metabolic causes including:
• Addison’s disease (deceased production of hormones by the adrenal glands)
• Hyperparathroidism (overactive parathyroid glands)
• Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)
• Hypokalemia (low potassium)
• Hyponatremia (low sodium)

Neurological causes of muscle weakness
Muscle weakness may have neurological causes including:
• Bell’s palsy (swollen or inflamed nerve that controls facial muscles)
• Cerebral palsy (group of conditions affecting the brain and nervous system functions)
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (inherited disorder affecting the peripheral nerves)
• Guillain-Barre syndrome (autoimmune nerve disorder)
• Multiple sclerosis (disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, causing weakness, coordination and balance difficulties, and other problems)
• Nerve entrapment or compression, such as of the ulnar nerve in the arm
• Stroke

Muscular disease causes of muscle weakness
Muscle weakness may have muscular disease causes including:
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a severe neuromuscular disease that causes muscle weakness and disability)
• Dermatomyositis (condition characterized by muscle inflammation and skin rash)
• Muscular dystrophy (inherited disorder that causes a progressive loss of muscle tissue and muscle weakness)

Toxic causes of muscle weakness
Muscle weakness may be due to toxins including:
• Botulism (serious food poisoning caused by Clostridium botulinum bacterium)
• Insecticide ingestion
• Nerve gas exposure
• Paralytic shellfish poisoning

Other causes of muscle weakness
Muscle weakness may have other causes including:
• Anemia (low red blood cell count)
• Myasthenia gravis (autoimmune neuromuscular disorder that causes muscle weakness)
• Overuse injury (overuse of a muscle)
• Polymyositis (widespread inflammation and weakness of muscles)