10 Reasons Why You're Experiencing Muscle Weakness

Everyone relies on their muscles to move them throughout their day. As they contract and relax, you can take steps, lift objects, sit, stand, and more.

As a result, when some of your muscles stop working the way they should, you want to know what’s causing that muscle weakness. Patrick S Hill, MD, can help. As a specialist in several causes of muscle weakness, including degenerative disc disease, lumbar spinal stenosis, and cervical spinal stenosis, he can help you figure out what’s behind your change in muscle function.

Before you visit Dr. Hill at our office in Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, California, let’s explore some common causes of muscle weakness.

10 Common causes of muscle weakness

If you’re experiencing whole-body muscle weakness, a health condition could be to blame. Some conditions that cause widespread weakness include:

Neuromuscular disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis [MS], muscular dystrophy)
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Electrolyte imbalances
Autoimmune diseases
Nerve damage
Thyroid conditions
Stroke

A spinal condition could be to blame if you’re only experiencing muscle weakness in an isolated body area — in your legs, for example.

Three back conditions that cause muscle weakness

Dr. Hill often treats people for muscle weakness caused by:

8. Degenerative disc disease

This condition develops when a disc that provides cushioning between your vertebrae starts to break down. The disc can press onto your spinal cord or surrounding nerves as it degenerates. That can cause muscle weakness in your leg or foot, along with pain, numbness, and more.

9. Cervical spinal stenosis

Stenosis develops when your spinal column narrows, pressing on your nerve roots and spinal cord. When this happens in your upper back (i.e., in your cervical spine), it’s called cervical stenosis. This condition can cause weakness — along with numbness or tingling — in your arms, hands, feet, and legs.

10. Lumbar spinal stenosis

If your spinal column narrows in your lower back ( lumbar spine), it’s diagnosed as lumbar stenosis. That narrowing can cause weakness, tingling, and numbness in your legs and feet.

Resolving spine-related muscle weakness

Fortunately, if a back problem is behind your weakness, Dr. Hill can help. With a discectomy, he can remove the damaged part of your disc causing the pressure resulting in your muscle weakness. In some cases, he can replace that disc with an artificial one.

Suppose the stenosis is causing your muscle weakness. In that case, he can explore treatment options like medication, physical therapy, and spinal decompression to alleviate the pressure resulting from the narrowed spinal column. If that doesn’t provide relief, Dr. Hill specializes in minimally invasive surgery to widen the spinal canal.

If you’re experiencing muscle weakness, talking with Dr. Hill can go a long way toward helping you find out what’s going on — and how to get relief. To get started, call our office or schedule your appointment with Dr. Hill online today.