Do you want to know why there is weakness in the arms and legs, and what these symptoms signal? In our article, we will try to answer the most popular questions of patients about this feeling, tell what to do if you often feel this condition, what tests to take, do you need to buy muscle relaxant online, and where to go to get rid of unpleasant symptoms.
Almost all people have encountered a feeling of sudden weakness in the upper or lower limbs: it usually occurs very unexpectedly, increases sharply, and then quickly pass. At the same time, the arms and legs become like “lead”: it is impossible to take a step, get up from the chair or simply pick up a cup of tea.
As a rule, this feeling passes in a few minutes, and there are no consequences. But sometimes it can last for hours or even days. Some associate this phenomenon with asthenia, that is, fatigue that develops quickly after activity of the usual intensity, but the reasons for this condition are completely different.
Causes of Occurrence
Let’s consider why weakness appears in the arms and legs. Most often, this condition indicates that the patient has neurological pathologies that lead to a violation of the transmission of neuromuscular impulses or nerve conduction of muscles. It also occurs due to the fact that a person has a disturbed electrolyte balance or metabolism. Usually, similar situations appear in cases where the patient does not eat properly, is on a strict diet, or lacks fluid in the body (due to diseases of the kidneys, liver, stomach, gastrointestinal tract, etc.).
Why do you feel weakness in your hands? It usually occurs due to the presence of:
- shoulder arthritis;
- osteochondrosis of the spine or cervical region;
- inflammation in the wrist, shoulder, or scapular area (or in the presence of injuries in them);
- cervical spondylosis;
- lumbago (shots in the lower back);
- osteochondrosis, which develops in the lumbar region;
- chronic fatigue syndrome;
- stress, anxiety, and nervous disorders;
- various endocrine pathologies (diabetes and other diabetes, problems with the thyroid gland);
- hormonal problems and restructuring (climax, puberty, etc.).
This is an incomplete list of problems that can cause weakness in the hands. There are other reasons, and often they can overlap. For example, the patient may have constant stress and thyroid pathology.
What Does the Problem Indicate?
Now that you know what causes weakness in the arms and legs, let’s figure out what this condition means. Foremost, you need to understand whether this situation occurs periodically or once. If it happens less often than one attack every six months, nervous tension and stress are most likely to blame. If the condition is repeated more often, this indicates the presence of a disorder.
It is also necessary to understand whether the weakness is the only symptom or an accompanying one. For example, if a patient has developed arthritis, his joints will hurt. And the weakness of the arms and legs will be accompanied by this. Most often, it indicates that the patient has:
- Lack of protein in the body. If you change your diet or abandon your diet, the situation will gradually level off.
- Inflammatory process. Moreover, it can flow not in the limbs, but in any part of the body.
- Infectious disease. Just like inflammation, it can be anywhere, even in the oral cavity.
- Toxic effect or poisoning (in particular, by-products of vital activity).
- Global dehydration of the body due to kidney failure or due to diet.
- Disorder of metabolism or electrolytes, anemia, or lack of vitamins.
- Neurological pathology, diabetes, or thyroid disease.
- Rheumatoid arthritis, asthenic syndrome.
Also, this problem can appear in people who take certain medical drugs (most often hormonal drugs). Frequent stress and emotional stress can cause weakness.
Weakness in the Left Arm or Leg
If you feel weakness only in the left limbs, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible and undergo a full diagnosis. As a rule, pain in the left side of the body indicates that the patient is developing a stroke — a violation of cerebral blood circulation. But it should be taken into account that weakness in the limbs is not necessarily a symptom of this disease, it is quite possible that there are other problems:
- various diseases of the spleen:
- thromboangiitis, atherosclerosis;
- the curvature of the spinal column, the presence of a hernia, or other spinal problems;
- kidney disease, the presence of an inflammatory process in it;
- obliterating endarteritis, vegetative-vascular dystonia.
Also, weakness in the left side of the body can occur due to diseases of the coronary vessels, and various pathologies of the heart muscle. In addition to it, tremors, frequent numbness, or spasms may occur in the hands and feet. In any case, before treating such a disease, you need to consult a doctor so that he can determine the reason why it developed.