Painful sensations, regardless of their origin, always cause discomfort. Myalgia is almost always accompanied by acute spasms, since it extends not only to soft tissues, but also affects nerve endings. Signs of the disease can appear in any part of the body.
There are more than 600 muscles in the human body, so there is a risk of pathologies occurring in various areas. With proper diagnosis of the body and selection of an adequate treatment method, you can quickly get rid of the disease. The Kuntsevo medical and rehabilitation facility uses the latest equipment to examine patients, and also uses effective methods of recovery and return to a normal lifestyle.
Types and causes of muscle pain
In most cases, the cause of muscle pain is a stressful situation, excessive physical activity or overexertion. Patients diagnosed with myalgia need treatment:
- with increased muscle tension in one or more areas of the body;
- pain after intense physical activity;
- muscle injury during sports or heavy work.
Doctors also name other reasons for the appearance of pain in muscle tissue. This could be a previous infection, such as influenza or polio. Discomfort is also caused by:
- autoimmune disorders in the body;
- use of certain groups of drugs;
- insufficient level of potassium in the body;
- serious problems with the thyroid gland.
Prolonged limb immobility due to fractures
Of particular importance is prolonged limb immobility due to fractures. You should approach the selection of crutches very responsibly, since crutches that are incorrectly selected for height can cause various damage to muscle, bone tissue and nerves (inflammation of the shoulder joint, traumatic plexitis, etc.). Low crutches lead to excessive stooping; using one crutch leads to lateral curvature of the spine.
After removing the cast, the muscles are always painfully tense, require gradual stretching, and the joints need to be “developed.” After removing the plaster, pain can appear in almost all parts of the back, since immobilization of both the upper and lower extremities after fractures leads to a gross violation of the stereotype of movements of the whole body and the appearance of pronounced asymmetries of the body.
Compression of muscles by bag or backpack straps, narrow, tight or heavy (such as a winter coat) pieces of clothing, bandages or corsets can activate trigger points in the corresponding muscles.
Basic methods of treating muscle pain by neurologists
In mild cases of the disease, muscle pain can be relieved at home. Over-the-counter painkillers are used for this. It is recommended to apply ice to the affected areas of the body as a result of injuries. This helps prevent tissue inflammation from occurring. If home treatment is not enough to eliminate pain, then you need to consult a neurologist.
At the Kuntsevo Center, an individual approach is applied to each patient. This helps to accurately determine the cause of the disease and choose the most effective treatment method.
The reason to seek help from professional specialists is severe muscle pain that occurs for no apparent reason. Sometimes it is accompanied by a rash and itching. Pain may appear after a tick bite and is accompanied by redness, increased body temperature and swelling. Treatment is prescribed to patients only after a thorough examination. For this purpose, MRI diagnostics and ultrasound are used.
Myalgia is not just a sign that indicates an alarming process in the muscles.
IMPORTANT! Prolonged and persistent myalgia requires consultation with a neurologist, who will conduct a full diagnosis, identify the causes of muscle pain, and offer the patient a detailed course of treatment and rehabilitation.
Self-medication is a dangerous step that can lead to an exacerbation of the symptom even if there is a period of remission and temporary absence of pain. Diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation are carried out by a neurologist at the Kuntsevo Medical and Rehabilitation Center. Book a consultation with our neurologist to get rid of this alarming symptom!
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Why do people feel weak after coronavirus?
“Weakness” usually means a decrease in muscle strength, endurance, and rapid fatigue during exercise. However, after coronavirus, patients experience problems with memory and concentration, depressive and anxiety disorders - cognitive and mental disorders of various orders, which may be behind damage to nerve fibers and encephalopathy. Encephalopathy can be caused by the death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, due to insufficient oxygen saturation of red blood cells and insufficient blood supply with nutrients.
The fact is that the new coronavirus infection can cause the development of viral pneumonia with damage to the lungs, which leads to a decrease in oxygen content in the blood. The volume of lung tissue that has lost its functions is calculated on a CT scan by a radiologist as a percentage.
Read more about lung damage CT-1, CT-2, CT-3, CT-4 and viral pneumonia in COVID-19
The first target for infection is the lung parenchyma, since it contains the protein receptor ACE2, to which the virus attaches. The human body begins to fight the infection, mobilizing all resources. The patient experiences weakness - he is exhausted by a high temperature, which “jumps” and lasts for an unusually long time compared to the flu, bronchitis or other acute respiratory infections.
If the human body’s defenses are insufficient or, on the contrary, the immune system reacts too aggressively to infection (see cytokine storm), damage to the pulmonary alveoli (air chambers) occurs and they fill with liquid contents - exudate. The greater the percentage of lung damage, the less oxygen will flow to the internal organs, in particular to the heart and brain.
In addition to the lungs, coronavirus infection affects blood circulation - the blood becomes more viscous and passes more slowly through the arteries and veins, which increases the risk of blood clots and leads to a decrease in physical functions.
Research is actively underway on the effect of the COVID-19 virus on other organs and systems of the human body, in particular the central nervous system. Some researchers hypothesize that SARS-CoV-2 has direct neuroinvasive potential, meaning it can lead to inflammation or damage to brain structures. As an argument, cases of encephalitis and Guillain-Barré syndrome recorded in patients with a new coronavirus infection are cited. It is assumed that the infection can enter the brain through the terminal nerve, which also contains ACE2 receptors and is located close to the olfactory epithelium of the nose (which is why the sense of smell disappears with coronavirus).
Muscle weakness, loss of sensitivity, and specific pain syndromes are the most characteristic signs of damage to nerve fibers and central nervous system organs.
Even if there are no complications to the lungs, cardiovascular system or central nervous system, the body of a person who has recovered from coronavirus is exhausted by a long fight against infection, forced physical inactivity, and psychological experiences (stress, anxiety, social isolation). With coronavirus, not a single antiviral medicine gives the desired therapeutic effect in a short time, which is why the patient experiences the painful condition even more and more acutely.
The reasons for weakness and drowsiness after coronavirus may be due to:
1. Viral infection of the lungs with resulting hypoxemia. It takes time to restore the respiratory organ - about a month for uncomplicated community-acquired pneumonia. A patient who has recovered from coronavirus may not be aware of pneumonia, since the disease is often asymptomatic or with subtle cough, shortness of breath, and chest discomfort. The severity of the disease and recovery time are determined by the doctor after analyzing the CT image.
Sometimes adhesions form in lungs damaged by the virus—pneumofibrosis. It turns out that the alveolar air vesicles are “overgrown” with connective tissue from the inside, and the functional areas of the lungs involved in breathing and supplying the blood with oxygen become fewer. Lung fibrosis due to coronavirus can be irreversible - in this case, the patient may experience oxygen deficiency, fatigue, shortness of breath during physical activity (up to exercise intolerance) for the rest of his life. It is difficult to treat fibrous adhesions (scars), but timely conservative therapy gives positive results.
You can suspect lung damage if, along with weakness due to coronavirus, the following were observed: cough, shortness of breath, localized pain and discomfort in the chest (including from the spine). You can also focus on changing the frequency of inhalations and exhalations, the time during which the patient can hold his breath. If the frequency of inhalations and exhalations has increased, and it has become more difficult to hold your breath and you feel an unusually rapid need to inhale, it is recommended to do a computed tomography scan of the lungs to rule out complications.
Thus, weakness after coronavirus with accompanying headaches, drowsiness, inhibition of speech and thinking, and increased blood pressure may occur due to a lack of oxygen due to lung damage.
2. Damage to nerve fibers and central nervous system organs. Even if we do not take into account the hypothesis of direct damage by the virus to brain structures and neurons, it is necessary to keep in mind that some patients develop a cytokine storm during the illness - an aggressive, excessive response of the immune system that kills not only foreign SARS-CoV-virions. 2, but also its own cells, in particular, cells of the peripheral nervous system. This manifests itself in muscle weakness, neurological symptoms (neuralgia, radiating pain), and cognitive impairment.
3. Poor circulation and cardiovascular complications. Fatigue is caused by slow blood flow due to thickening. As a result, the heart is forced to take on additional load, and the organ may not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, just like the brain during hypoxemia. Such disruptions in the functioning of the body will be especially severe for people with a pre-existing history of cardiovascular diseases.
4. Deficiency of vitamins, microelements, antioxidants. All resources are spent on fighting the virus and regeneration.
5. Psychological exhaustion. A person experiences a serious and potentially life-threatening illness in a special way. Weakness occurs due to apathy, depression, anxiety disorders, sleep disturbances, and prolonged social isolation. However, it should be noted that psychological exhaustion after coronavirus is largely due to physiological reasons: prolonged and unusually aggressive viral load (similar to persistent pain that cannot be relieved), vitamin deficiency, physical inactivity, increased levels of C-reactive protein, damage to CNS cells .
Treatment results
Treatment of muscle pain is carried out in various ways. Patients are prescribed:
- acupuncture and acupressure treatments;
- electro- and physiotherapy;
- exercise therapy;
- manual manipulations.
Special exercises are especially relevant for chronic pain that is a consequence of spinal pathologies, for example, osteochondrosis, disc herniation or spondylosis. For severe muscle tissue injuries, surgical treatment methods are used.
Trigger mechanism of muscle pain syndrome.
The trigger for muscle pain syndrome is deformation of the working muscle, when the thicker and stronger part of it stretches the thinner and weaker part. At the same time, the thicker and stronger part of the muscle is in spasm, its metabolism and blood supply are disrupted, and the second part is overstretched, its blood supply is sufficient, but it is “tired.” A similar situation can occur not only in one muscle, but also in antagonist muscles.
When reserve capacity is depleted, tense bundles with increased irritability gradually form among the muscle fibers - myofascial trigger points (points, zones), which, when pressed, feel like a painful dense cord.
Rehabilitation and lifestyle restoration
Patients suffering from muscle pain undergo diagnosis, treatment and restoration of the body without leaving the clinic. The Kuntsevo Medical Center has its own rehabilitation department. The success of its work is based on the availability of modern highly efficient equipment, a staff of experienced specialists, and the application of the principle of an individual approach.
The technical equipment of the clinic meets modern world standards. To restore the body after an illness, manual therapy sessions are often prescribed. Its peculiarity is its effect on tissues to ensure the normal functioning of the systems of the human body. During the procedures, restriction of joint mobility is eliminated, muscles are relaxed, and minor tissue compactions are removed. Properly performed manual therapy is gentle and completely painless.
Muscle hypothermia, mental factors
Muscle hypothermia - both general and local. I was sitting in a draft, my neck was “bloated”, my lower back was “blown out”, etc. Cooling is one of the most common triggers. Usually combined with muscle overload, when overworked, tense muscles are cooled.
Mental factors
Emotional stress is always accompanied by muscle tension, which ensures that the body is ready to fight or flee. After the stress stops, the muscles often remain tense. The role of chronic stressful situations is also important, when many muscles of the face, neck, and torso are in a contracted state and a person seems to “forget how” to control muscle tension and relax the muscles. In a state of chronic stress, gait and movement patterns change. Remember the expression - “he was bent by grief.” The state of the psyche is always reflected in movements; a person’s so-called psychomotor skills change. A change in posture leads to muscle spasms and overloads, pain appears, which in turn further disrupts gait and posture.
Features of myalgia
Pain emanating from the muscles is usually deep6. Acute myalgia is protective in nature because it causes reactions aimed at eliminating the damaging factor11. Such reactions include, for example, muscle spasms4. But despite its protective nature, there is almost always a risk that the pain will become chronic11. There are 2 main causes of chronicity:
- Increased sensitivity. In response to irritation, the muscle releases substances that support inflammation. They further irritate pain receptors in the muscles. In response to frequent signals, the central nervous system lowers the pain threshold, so we can feel soreness in the muscle even when it is not strongly irritated11.
- Spasm. If pain and spasm persist, a “vicious circle” is formed: pain causes spasm, and spasm maintains pain1,5, 11.