Weakness Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention
The sense of body exhaustion or tiredness is Asthenia, also referred to as weakness. A person who suffers from weakness in the body may not correctly move a specific part of their body. The lack of energy to move particular muscles or even all the muscles of the body is best described as Asthenia. An individual suffering from weakness may not correctly move a specific part of their body.
Weakness is a feeling of tiredness or exhaustion or of experiencing a loss of strength. An evident or apparent disease can not always follow weakness. Short-term weakness may occur due to overwork, stress, or lack of sleep. The medical term for weakness is Asthenia. Weakness can occur throughout the body or in a specific area, such as your arms or legs. It can also localize to a single muscle, such as a calf muscle in the leg.
Weakness can also occur due to physical illnesses or toxic disorders. Long-term conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or an underactive thyroid, can cause weakness. Short-term conditions, such as a pinched nerve or urinary tract infection, can also cause weakness.
Types of Weakness (Asthenia)
Asthenia can affect the body and mind. Based on this, it can be divided into two categories:
Physical Weakness
It refers to the body's muscles' inability to perform activities that require some physical effort, such as running, swimming, cycling, climbing stairs, jogging, and doing physical exercise. It can be caused by extreme physical exertion over a considerable time or by the natural degeneration of muscles with age. Both conditions cause a feeling of physical exhaustion or muscle weakness.
Mental Weakness
It is defined as a substantial decrease in cognitive activities such as learning, judgment, or decision-making. It results from extreme stress on the cognitive centre of the brain that leads to a reduction in neural activities for a short time. Mental weakness can also occur due to age, a brain tumor, or experiencing emotional trauma in the past.
Three other types of weakness have also recently been identified. These are given below:
Central:
It is characterized by a reduction of the neural impulse or the motor activities based on the nerves.
Neuromuscular:
Here, the nerve does not stimulate a muscle.
Peripheral muscle:
The body cannot supply the additional energy required by the contracting muscles.
Causes of Weakness
Common causes of weakness include:
- Flu
- Thyroid disease
- Anemia
- Depression or anxiety
- Lack of sleep
- Mismanaged or undiagnosed diabetes
- Congestive heart failure
- Vitamin B-12 deficiency
- Side effects of medications, which often occur when taking mild tranquillizers to treat anxiety
- Certain muscle diseases
- Chemotherapy
Other causes of weakness include:
- Cancer
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Stroke
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Heart attack
- Nerve or muscle injuries
- Diseases that affect the nerves or muscles
- Drug overdose
- Vitamin overdose
- Poison
While weakness caused by cancer can appear slowly over a long time, weakness caused by a heart attack or stroke often occurs immediately. Besides experiencing weakness, other signs such as shortness of breath, pain, and an irregular heartbeat may appear.
Weakness Symptoms
Fatigue or Tiredness:
Persistent feeling of exhaustion or lack of energy, often disproportionate to exertion level, indicating potential weakness.
Muscle Weakness:
Difficulty in performing routine tasks due to decreased muscle strength or coordination, such as lifting objects or climbing stairs.
Lethargy or Malaise:
Generalized sense of lethargy, sluggishness, or malaise, affecting physical and mental functioning.
Difficulty Standing or Walking:
Feeling unsteady on your feet, experiencing instability or frequent falls, or having trouble maintaining balance.
Weak Grip Strength:
Noticeable decrease in grip strength or difficulty holding objects firmly, which may affect daily activities.
Reduced Endurance:
Inability to sustain physical activities or prolonged periods of exertion, leading to early fatigue or exhaustion.
Mental Fog or Confusion:
Cognitive symptoms such as mental fog, difficulty concentrating, or memory problems often accompany physical weakness.
Diagnosis
There are many treatment options for weakness. Determining the root cause helps to assess the treatment option for your doctor. When you visit your doctor, they will go over your signs. When you have signs, they will ask you. This will help your doctor understand more about what could cause you to feel weak. Your doctor might ask you to give a urine sample. They can also request a blood sample and send it to a laboratory for testing. The lab will test these samples for signs of infection and medical conditions that can cause weakness.
If a person experiences localized weakness, a doctor can also perform a detailed physical examination of the affected body part. After conducting the initial evaluation, the doctor can better determine the cause of Asthenia or weakness.
They can follow up with one or more diagnostic tests, including:
- Blood tests to check for hormonal imbalances or signs of infection
- Urinalysis for signs of infection and disease
- One or more of the following medical imaging tests to look for causes of bone, nerve, or muscle damage within the affected body part:
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X-rays
- Ultrasounds
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans
- Computed tomography (CT) scans
Weakness Treatment
A person's form of treatment will depend on the cause of their asthenia or weakness.
Acute diseases
Sometimes, asthenia may disappear after treatment for an acute illness. For instance, after a person finishes a course of antibiotics, asthenia that develops from a bacterial infection should go away.
Chronic medical conditions
Sometimes, asthenia can be because of a more chronic medical condition. To treat asthenia, a doctor will need to diagnose and manage the underlying condition. Some chronic conditions will require long-term treatment. For instance, after a person completes the course of antibiotics, asthenia that develops from a bacterial infection should go away.
Drug side effects
Some people may experience asthenia or weakness as a side effect of a particular drug. A doctor may recommend reducing the dose of the drug or switching to an alternative. However, a person should never adjust the dose of their medication or stop taking a medication unless their doctor has told them it is safe to do so.
When to visit a Doctor?
Some types of Asthenia are spread on their own. However, people who experience frequent episodes of Asthenia should see a doctor. They may have an underlying medical disorder that needs treatment.
A person should seek emergency medical attention for signs of Asthenia that occur along with signs of a heart attack or stroke. If you experience a sudden onset of weakness on one side of the body or face, weakness with shortness of breath or palpitations, weakness with loss of consciousness, severe chest pain, back pain, or abdominal pain. Suppose you have discomfort along with other signs, such as abdominal pain or cramps, fever and chills, foul-smelling urine, or feeling ill.
Prevention
It is not always possible to prevent asthenia. However, leading a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of chronic diseases that can cause asthenia. Some steps a person can take to reduce their risk of developing asthenia include:
- quit smoking
- avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- eat healthily
- exercise regularly
- lose weight if necessary
- take steps to reduce stress levels
- get enough sleep
