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 is commonly due to lack of exercise, ageing, muscle injury or pregnancy. It can also occur with long-term conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. There are many other possible causes, which include stroke, multiple sclerosis, depression, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME).
Peripheral nerves
The nerves outside of your brain and spinal cord can become damaged, which is called peripheral neuropathy. Weakness, numbness, pain and balance issues can be caused by peripheral neuropathy because it makes it difficult to determine where your body is relative to other objects or the ground.
Asthenia and myasthenia are different conditions that involve weakness in one or more parts of the body. Myasthenia or myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease. In MG, the immune system recurrently attacks a particular part of the body's nerves and muscles. This causes the muscles to become weak and tire easily.
Causes of nerve damage include direct injury, tumor growth on the spine, prolonged pressure on the spine, and diabetes. A spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injuries are among the most common reasons that legs give out. These injuries vary in severity but should always be evaluated immediately by a spine specialist.
Several medical conditions can make a person feel weak, shaky, and tired. They include dehydration, irregular heart beat, Parkinson's disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Treatment will depend on the condition a person has.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Vitamin B1 deficiency can cause heavy and tired legs after running, muscle cramps, fatigue, and odd sensations in your legs and feet. Some foods rich in vitamin B1 include whole grains, vegetables, legumes, milk products, and meat.
What is ataxia? Ataxia is a loss of muscle control. People with ataxia lose muscle control in their arms and legs. This may lead to a lack of balance, coordination, and trouble walking.
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.
Muscle weakness that is slowly getting worse needs to be checked by a doctor. Sudden muscle weakness and loss of function in one area of the body also needs to be checked by a doctor right away. It can be a sign of a stroke or of a problem with the spinal cord or a nerve.
Medical causes – unrelenting exhaustion may be a sign of an underlying illness, such as a thyroid disorder, heart disease or diabetes. Lifestyle-related causes – alcohol or drugs or lack of regular exercise can lead to feelings of fatigue. Workplace-related causes – workplace stress can lead to feelings of fatigue.
The “jelly legs” feeling, which typically refers to feelings of weakness, dizziness, or loss of control in the legs, is often caused by a rush of adrenaline taking blood away from the legs, though there may be other causes.
Make an appointment with your health care provider if:
You have pain during or after walking. You have swelling in both legs. Your pain gets worse. Your symptoms don't get better after a few days of treating them at home.
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.
Another common symptom of chronic anxiety is weakness in the muscles, most commonly experienced in the legs and sometimes the arms. During the fight or flight response, the body is preparing to take action against danger.
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.
Poor Blood Supply to Extremities
Poor blood supply to the legs may lead to: Pain, achiness, fatigue, burning, or discomfort in the muscles of your feet, calves, or thighs. Symptoms that often appear during walking or exercise, and go away after several minutes of rest.
Paralysis is the loss of the ability to move some or all of your body. It can have lots of different causes, some of which can be serious. Depending on the cause, it may be temporary or permanent.
ms frequently causes fatigue, which can limit walking endurance. ms damage to nerve pathways may hamper coordination and/or cause weakness, poor balance, numbness, or spasticity (abnormal increase in muscle tone). Visual or cognitive problems can also interfere with walking.