Weakness in the legs often occurs as a result of overactivity. However, it can sometimes be a sign of an underlying medical condition. A person who experiences sudden weakness in the legs or some other part of their body should seek emergency medical attention.
Leg weakness can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, some of which are serious. Possible causes include stroke, systemic diseases, inflammatory conditions, nerve damage, muscle disorders, and medication side effects.
Muscle weakness in the legs may indicate a neuromuscular disease is present. These diseases lead to a loss of functioning in nerves and muscles throughout the body. They include muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), myasthenia gravis and fibromyalgia.
As a result, people with heart failure often feel weak (especially in their arms and legs), tired and have difficulty performing ordinary activities such as walking, climbing stairs or carrying groceries.
Feeling weakness in one or both of your legs is called monoparesis or paraparesis and can be a direct result of MS. You can also feel weakness in your arms and other areas of your body, but to feel it in your legs often occurs more frequently.
Combining running and walking with strength training and other forms of aerobic exercise like swimming, elliptical training and cycling can add variety to your workout and can greatly improve your performance. Sports like soccer and basketball are great for improving leg power as well.
Sarcopenia is the age-related progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. The main symptom of the condition is muscle weakness. Sarcopenia is a type of muscle atrophy primarily caused by the natural aging process. Scientists believe being physically inactive and eating an unhealthy diet can contribute to the disease.
Often, the cause of weakness or pain in the legs when walking is a narrowing of the space around nerves that carry signals to the lower part of the body. When symptoms affect your legs, the condition is typically lumbar spinal stenosis.
Causes of Leg Fatigue or Heaviness
They include: Varicose veins: The leg veins become enlarged. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD): Buildup of fat deposits in the artery walls, thus, causing inadequate circulation of blood in the legs. Overtraining syndrome: Excess training or physical activities to improve performance.
People will often experience shaky or weak legs when dealing with vascular issues in the leg, like deep vein thrombosis or blood clots. Clots are very serious if untreated because they could break off into the bloodstream and travel to an artery in the lungs, blocking blood flow.
Sore or aching legs can often be treated at home, but if pain is sudden, severe, or persistent, or if there are other symptoms, medical attention may be necessary. If you suddenly develop pain from an injury, use the RICER method: Rest: Avoid moving the leg.
Weakness in the legs is a common symptom of many health conditions and injuries, including autoimmune diseases, spinal conditions and injuries, and stroke. Often, leg weakness will resolve over time, but in some cases, it can be a medical emergency, especially if the weakness comes on suddenly.
Disuse (physiologic) atrophy is usually reversible, but it won't happen overnight. You can recover from muscle atrophy by exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet. You may start seeing improvement after a few months, but it may take much longer for you to fully recover your strength.
"Older people can definitely regain good leg strength if they do regular strengthening exercises and increase the intensity of their exercises in a slow and safe way.
Vitamin D helps your body use calcium. But when you're deficient in this vitamin, your legs may feel weak, sore and heavy. A vitamin E deficiency may be another reason your legs feel heavy after a run.
Diabetes and atherosclerosis are the main causes of poor circulation in the body, but are also associated with smoking, living an inactive lifestyle, or having high blood pressure or cholesterol. To reduce lower extremity weakness, elevate your legs while your sitting or laying down to increase your bodies circulation.
Most can expect to see noticeable muscle growth within eight weeks of starting a new strength training routine. Linking this with aches/pains/injuries when seeing your Physiotherapist, most people look for a quick fix and once they are out of pain then they think they are cured.
Muscle spasms: They usually affect your leg muscles. They're an early symptom for almost half the people with MS. They also affect people with progressive MS. You might feel mild stiffness or strong, painful spasms.
Fatigue. Pain, which may be acute or chronic, caused by the nerves that carry sensation "short circuiting." Types of pain can include band-like pain around the chest, or MS hug, caused by spastic nerves along with other types of painful sensations in the neck, arms, legs and feet. Sexual problems.
Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others. Heart failure means the heart has failed to pump the way it should in order to circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.