What Causes Muscle Fatigue?

What is muscle fatigue?

At the start of exercising or when performing jobs, your muscles feel strong and resilient. But over time and after replicating movements, your muscles can begin to feel weaker and tired. This can be defined as muscular fatigue.

Muscle fatigue is a symptom that decreases your muscles’ ability to perform over time. It can be associated with a condition of exhaustion, frequently after strenuous activity or exercise. When you experience exhaustion, the push behind your muscles’ movements decreases, causing one to feel poorer.

While exercise is a common cause of muscle fatigue, this symptom can be the consequence of other health ailments, also.

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Causes of muscular fatigue

Exercise and other physical activity are a common cause of muscular fatigue. Other possible causes of this symptom include:

  • Addison’s disease
  • Era
  • Anaerobic infections
  • Anemia
  • Anxiety
  • Botulism
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Chemotherapy
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
  • Dehydration
  • Melancholy
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Hepatitis C
  • HIV
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Influenza (the flu)
  • Lack of exercise
  • Lactic acid production
  • Drugs
  • Mineral deficiency
  • Muscular dystrophy
  • Myasthenia gravis
  • Myositis (muscle soreness)
  • Poor muscle tone due to a medical condition
  • Pregnancy
  • Sleep deprivation
  • Stroke
  • Tuberculosis

Muscle fatigue symptoms

Muscle fatigue can happen anywhere on the human body. An initial sign of the condition is muscle fatigue. Other symptoms associated with muscle fatigue include:

  • Soreness
  • Localized pain
  • Hortness of breath
  • Muscle twitching
  • Trembling
  • A feeble grasp
  • Muscle cramps

If you begin having trouble performing daily activities or if your symptoms worsen, seek immediate medical attention. This might be an indication of a more serious medical condition.

Treating muscle fatigue

Treatment depends on the underlying cause of muscle fatigue and accompanying symptoms. If you’ve been experiencing muscular fatigue, especially if it’s irrelevant to work out, call your physician. Your doctor will assess your medical history and symptoms to rule out more severe health ailments.

In many cases, your muscle strain will improve with rest and recovery. Staying hydrated and maintaining a nutritious diet may also improve your recovery time, protect against muscle fatigue and weakness, and ensure you have sufficient nutrients to promote wholesome muscle function.

Be sure to stretch prior to and after strenuous activity. Warming up can loosen your muscles and protect against harm. If your muscle fatigue persists, cold and hot treatment are techniques that can reduce discomfort and inflammation.

Other causes of muscle fatigue may require medical attention. Based on your diagnosis, your physician may prescribe anti-inflammatory or antidepressant medications. If your muscle exhaustion is more severe, your physician may recommend physical therapy to increase your mobility and speed your recovery. Discuss your options with your physician before the following treatment.

Outlook

Muscle fatigue decreases the amount of force you use to do muscle actions. This symptom can be considered no cause for alarm unless the exhaustion doesn’t improve with rest.

In more severe cases, muscle fatigue may be an indication of a serious disorder. Left untreated, this condition can result in overwork and increase your risk of injury. Don’t self-diagnose. If your muscle fatigue is paired with additional irregular symptoms or if your condition doesn’t improve after a few days, schedule a visit with your doctor.