Muscle weakness due to vitamin D deficiency is predominantly of the proximal muscle groups and is manifested by a feeling of heaviness in the legs, tiring easily, and difficulty in mounting stairs and rising from a chair; the deficiency is reversible with supplementation (15–18).
Vitamin D helps your body use calcium. But when you're deficient in this vitamin, your legs may feel weak, sore and heavy. A vitamin E deficiency may be another reason your legs feel heavy after a run.
Vitamin D deficiency is the state of having inadequate amounts of vitamin D in your body, which may cause health problems like brittle bones and muscle weakness.
Vitamin D deficiency can cause muscle aches, weakness, and bone pain in people of all ages. Muscle spasms (tetany) may be the first sign of rickets in infants. They are caused by a low calcium level.
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may include:
Fatigue. Not sleeping well. Bone pain or achiness. Depression or feelings of sadness.
Potassium (Vitamin K)
Potassium is an essential mineral for many important bodily functions, including blood circulation. It keeps the blood vessel walls strong and can even help prevent bulging veins. Potassium can be found in a variety of healthy and tasty foods like bananas and avocados.
At-home vitamin deficiency tests are available from online retailers, including LetsGetChecked, Everlywell, MyLab Box, and more. Popular test kits can measure a person's vitamin D, B12, or iron levels.
Over time, peripheral nerve damage resulting from vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to movement problems. Numbness in the feet and limbs may make it hard for a person to walk without support. They may also experience muscle weakness and diminished reflexes.
Leg weakness can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, some of which are serious. Possible causes include stroke, systemic diseases, inflammatory conditions, nerve damage, muscle disorders, and medication side effects.
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. A feeling of sudden weakness in the legs may be due to nerve and/or muscle dysfunction.
Since magnesium plays a role in neuromuscular transmission and muscle contraction, it has been hypothesised that magnesium deficiency may predispose to muscle cramps. Thus magnesium supplements are often recommended to prevent cramps.
People will often experience shaky or weak legs when dealing with vascular issues in the leg, like deep vein thrombosis or blood clots. Clots are very serious if untreated because they could break off into the bloodstream and travel to an artery in the lungs, blocking blood flow.
Taking a blood test is the best way to tell if you are nutritionally deficient and which supplements you may need. You can either go to your doctor or get one shipped to your door from health and wellness testing companies like EverlyWell or LetsGetChecked.
Most vitamin and mineral deficiencies can be picked up with a blood test, like: a finger-prick blood test — using a lancet, you can prick your finger and collect a small blood sample. a venous blood test — if you don't want to collect your sample, we can arrange a trained nurse to do this for you at a clinic.
Symptoms of poor circulation are often easy to spot. They include muscle cramping, constant foot pain, and pain and throbbing in the arms and legs. As well as fatigue, varicose veins, and digestive issues. Leg cramps while walking and wounds that don't seem to heal in your legs, feet, and toes are also symptoms.
“Adding an over-the-counter vitamin D supplement can make improvements in just three to four months time.
There's no set time of day that's best to take vitamin D supplements. Some people say taking vitamin D supplements at night is an insomnia risk. There's no research to confirm this, but you might want to take your supplement earlier in the day if you think it's screwing with your sleep.
It can take anywhere from 1-6 months to raise vitamin D levels with supplements. How much your levels increase and how long it takes will depend on the dose and your baseline vitamin D levels.