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Fibromyalgia syndrome is an illness with many faces. In fact, it is often accompanied by so many different symptoms that many health care providers have troubles diagnosing fibromyalgia in the first place. If you are suffering from fibromyalgia, you may be encountering some painful and annoying muscle twitching and weakness. These are two very common symptoms but they can exacerbate other fibromyalgia complications. So if you are suffering from muscle weakness and twitching, be sure to look into effective treatments.
What are Muscle Twitching and Weakness?
Most of us are familiar with muscle twitching. Whether it appears as an annoying twitch in your eyelid or as a nighttime leg twitch, this type of muscle aggravation can be very frustrating. Muscle twitches are actually caused by tiny contractions inside of your muscles. Typically involuntary, your muscles twitch when a nerve in your body tells them to contract and release rapidly. Sometimes referred to as muscle fasciculation, muscle twitches typically affect single muscles in different locations around your body.
Muscle weakness happens when your muscles simply do not have enough strength to perform a certain task or motion. Muscle weakness isn’t the same as common fatigue, though. With true muscle weakness, you can exert all of your energy without achieving any movement in your muscle. Muscle weakness can be localized to a specific area or it can encompass all of the muscles in your body.
What Causes Muscle Twitching and Weakness?
Muscle twitches happen when the nerves inside of your body begin to fire involuntarily. In order for you to move your muscles, a series of electronic impulses are fired along nerve pathways in your body. This stimulates muscle contraction and relaxation. Muscle twitches occur when a particular nerve fires an impulse unexpectedly. As a result, your muscle twitches compulsively. Some possible causes of muscle twitches include:
- muscle fatigue
- muscle strain or injury
- emotional stress or anxiety
- certain medications
- caffeine
- nervous system disorder
Muscle weakness happens when the nerves that stimulate your muscles to move aren’t working properly. As a result, your muscles don’t contract and relax as they should, and your muscles don’t move. Causes of muscle weakness include:
Symptoms Associated with Muscle Twitching and Weakness
Muscle twitching is often associated with the following symptoms:
- tingling
- feeling as if your muscles are "electric"
- sudden, uncontrollable movements
- sleep disorders, like restless leg syndrome
Muscle weakness is often associated with the following symptoms:
- fatigue
- numbness in certain muscle groups
- inability to lift or support your arms or legs
- inability to perform physical tasks using specific muscle groups
Muscle Twitching, Muscle Weakness, and Fibromyalgia
Muscle twitching and weakness are common symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome. In fact, more than half of fibromyalgia sufferers seem to experience at least one of the two symptoms.
Muscle twitching in fibromyalgia seems to be related to the location of specific tender points throughout the body. These tender points tend to irritate nerves in the body, which may cause muscles to twitch involuntarily. Muscle twitching may also be related to the high incidence of sleep related disorders in fibromyalgia, including bruxism and restless leg syndrome. Though the cause of these disorders remains unknown, they do cause involuntary and compulsive muscle twitches.
Muscle weakness is also a major problem for fibromyalgia sufferers. Some researchers theorize that this is due to the fact that many fibromyalgia patients do not perform enough physical exercise to maintain their muscle strength, due to muscle pain and overall fatigue levels. However, recent studies have linked fibromyalgia-related muscle weakness to a dietary insufficiency. In particular, those with muscle weakness appeared to have low levels of Vitamin D in their system. When treated for four to six weeks with Vitamin D supplements, symptoms of muscle weakness improved and even disappeared.
Treating Muscle Twitching and Muscle Weakness
Involuntary muscle twitching can be treated at home, with a routine of stretching and exercise. By gently stretching out and massaging the affected muscle, you should be able to reduce the severity of the twitching. Some sufferers find that walking or using the affected muscle also helps to stop the twitching. If your twitching is interfering with your sleep patterns, talk with your health care provider about anti-spasmodic medications. Medications like Sinequin and Klonopin can help to stop muscle twitches and spasms.
Muscle weakness is a bit trickier to treat. It is necessary that you see your health care provider, in order to diagnose the source of the weakness. If the muscle weakness is caused by a dietary insufficiency, nutritional supplements may be the best treatment option for you. You may also try to slowly build up your muscles with specific exercise tailored by physiotherapist.
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