Polymyositis can make it hard to do everyday things. You may notice trouble walking up a flight of stairs, lifting up your arms, or getting out of your chair. As inflammation gets worse around the body, pain and weakness may affect the ankles, wrists, and lower arm area.
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles.
Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune, neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles (the muscles that connect to your bones and contract to allow body movement in the arms and legs, and allow for breathing).
Inclusion body myositis is a separate disorder that can cause muscle weakness and wasting away of muscle, most commonly in the legs, hands, and feet.
Myositis (my-o-SY-tis) is a rare type of autoimmune disease that inflames and weakens muscle fibers. Autoimmune diseases occur when the body's own immune system attacks itself. In the case of myositis, the immune system attacks healthy muscle tissue, which results in inflammation, swelling, pain, and eventual weakness.
Muscular dystrophy (MD) refers to a group of more than 30 genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness and degeneration of skeletal muscles used during voluntary movement.
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.
You may experience pain and stiffness, with or without swelling. This affects most people with lupus. Common areas for muscle pain and swelling include the neck, thighs, shoulders, and upper arms.
An itchy rash on the legs could be a sign of lupus, particularly if it develops in response to environmental triggers that often affect people with lupus or if they have a family history of the disease. The rash may look similar to sunburn, cause circular lesions, or cause scaly patches with distinct edges.
Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) is an autoimmune and neurological disorder that can make the muscles in the torso and limbs alternate between rigidity and spasms. The cause of this extremely rare disease is still unknown.
Many types of orthopedic or neuromuscular impairments can impact mobility. These include but are not limited to amputation, paralysis, cerebral palsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, and spinal cord injury.
Problems with the joints, (such as arthritis), bones (such as deformities), circulation (such as peripheral vascular disease), or even pain can make it difficult to walk properly. Diseases or injuries to the nerves, muscles, brain, spinal cord, or inner ear can affect normal walking.
Difficulty walking may include problems standing or moving. Difficulty walking is a common symptom caused by a brain tumor, and may occur if any of the following symptoms are present: Weakness in one foot/leg or both feet/legs. Change in sensation (burning, pins and needles) or numbness in one leg or both.
People with inflammatory arthritis, including lupus, commonly report foot complaints that include pain, impairment and disability. Foot problems in lupus can involve any of the tissue structures in the foot/ankle.
Autoimmune disorders that specifically affect the muscles, joints, and nerves include rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Polymyalgia rheumatica, which also involves the joints, is thought to be an autoimmune condition, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
Some people with lupus develop myositis, an inflammation of the skeletal muscles that causes weakness and loss of strength. Lupus myositis often affects the muscles of your neck, pelvis, thighs, shoulders and upper arms; difficulty in climbing stairs and getting up from a chair are early symptoms.
Common causes of sudden leg weakness include drop attacks, the Guillain–Barr syndrome and nontraumatic spinal cord compression due to metastatic tumour or an epidural abscess.
The weakness can make your legs feel heavy, as if they are being weighed down by something. They may also ache and hurt. Some people with MS describe it as like having bags of sand attached to their legs. This muscle weakness combined with MS fatigue can be upsetting.
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.
Sudden weakness in the legs may be a sign of a medical emergency such as stroke or cauda equina syndrome and any sudden or unexplained leg weakness should warrant immediate medical attention.
Legs can “give way” due to muscle issues, especially while exercising. These instances are not cause for alarm typically. But if your legs give way and you lose complete control or feeling, the spinal nerves are likely the culprit. The nerves in our spine help deliver signals from our brain to the legs.