A feeling of sudden leg weakness, causing your legs to give out or buckle can be alarming. Weakness in your leg(s) may occur from problems in the nerves and/or muscles in your lower body and is usually treatable. Rarely, the underlying cause may be a serious medical condition requiring immediate medical attention.
An injury to the spinal cord is the most common reason for leg give way episodes. Spinal cord injuries can be happen during the course of a car accident, while playing a contact sport, or by slipping and falling.
Weakness in the legs can be caused by many different conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or called Lou Gehrig's disease), bulging/herniated (slipped) disc, Cauda equina syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, peripheral neuropathy, pinched ...
When adrenaline rushes through the body, blood goes to the places that your body feels need it most. That means that your blood is rushing to your heart, your brain, and possibly various muscles, and to do that it rushes out of your legs and makes them feel more like jelly.
Muscle spasms and stiffness: Formally called spasticity, this symptom can range from mild feelings of muscle tightness to severe and painful spasms, according to the National MS Society, and it most commonly affects the legs.
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.
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.
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.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Poor dietary intake can result in weak leg muscles. For example, an older person with a poor diet may not get enough calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium in their body. These nutrients are necessary to maintain healthy bones and muscles.
Besides vascular issues, nerves and nerve damage can be the source of your lower leg pain and weakness. Issues involving the spinal cord are the most prevalent source of leg weakness. A narrowed spinal canal, or stenosis, puts pressure on the nerves that travel through the spine.
Bending your knees over and over again over many years can cause them to “buckle.” Knee buckling, also known as knee giving way, is the feeling of your temporary loss of control over your knee joint. The feeling that your knees may not support weight is alarming for anyone experiencing temporary weakness.
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a condition that causes an uncontrollable urge to move the legs, usually because of an uncomfortable sensation. It typically happens in the evening or nighttime hours when you're sitting or lying down. Moving eases the unpleasant feeling temporarily.
There are many reasons why you may find it difficult to put on socks. The extensive range of motion can be very challenging for people who have reached a certain age, those who suffere from arthritis, Parkinson's, back pain, lack of upper body strength, pregnant women and bariatric individuals.
MS causes damage to the myelin coating of the nerves as well as the nerves themselves. Damage to the nerves controlling the legs may result in weakness. If your leg weakness is due to nerve damage, exercise and rest will not help.
What Does MS Feels Like? A lack of feeling or a pins-and-needles sensation can be the first sign of nerve damage from MS. It usually happens in your face, arms, or legs, and on one side of your body. It tends to go away on its own.
It can be due to reduced blood flow, tight muscles and ligaments, fluid pooled in the body's lower extremities, or pins and needles sensations in the feet.
This is essentially what happens to a lesser degree while you sleep – your joints stiffen from inactivity. Arthritis in your ankles, knees, hips, and the joints in your feet can make for awkward, painful movement when you wake. As with plantar fasciitis, the key is to start slowly and warm up before getting up.
Neurologic Disease
The weakness of the hip and lower extremity muscles commonly cause gait disturbances. Cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, Charcot Marie Tooth disease, ataxia-telangiectasia, spinal muscular atrophy, peroneal neuropathy, and microvascular white-matter disease all cause significant gait disabilities.
What's not so obvious is that your legs also can tell you a lot about the state of your heart and circulatory system through three conditions: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) Chronic venous insufficiency/varicose veins.