8 Early Symptoms of Muscle Degeneration You Definitely Should Not Ignore

Nov 08, 2018 by apost team

Muscular dystrophy happens when your genes mutate and cause damage to the muscle cells in the body. There are more than 150 different kinds of degenerative muscle diseases and they all act in different ways.

However, most of them start out with the same mild symptoms. If you don’t notice them, or if you don’t take action when you do, it will begin to progress over time.

Here are the top 8 warning signs of muscle degeneration that you should not ignore!

You might think you’ve skipped one too many workouts when your muscles are weak, but it could actually be a sign of muscle degeneration. When the muscle cells die, it can cause your muscles to feel weak. If you notice you are struggling to get out of your chair, brushing your hair, or if you have difficulty lifting an object, you might be suffering from muscular dystrophy.

Be aware of spasms or tightness in the arm and leg muscles. It might be a sign of myotonia. This serious medical condition requires medical treatment right away. If you notice that you aren’t as flexible or there might be something wrong with your muscles.

apost.com

If you notice your calves are suddenly larger than they used to be, it might be a sign of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This happens mostly in young boys and will worsen rapidly. If you have this disorder, your calf muscles are often the first to be affected because you stabilize your body with your legs. The muscles will eventually become scar and fat tissue.

If you notice your posture is not what it should be, it could be a sign that your muscles can’t hold your spine straight. This may eventually lead to scoliosis over time. When your spine begins to curve, it will affect the position of your internal organs. Scoliosis is more prevalent in women than men and will often reveal itself when you are a teenager.

When you have severe Scoliosis, the muscular dystrophy might affect how you breathe. This is because the chest muscles that are associated with breathing become too weak and cause you to be constantly short of breath.

Difficulty breathing might also lead to difficulty concentrating, headaches, and even nightmares. The weak chest muscles leave you open for more serious respiratory infections like pneumonia.

When you start having problems eating it could be a sign of Kennedy’s disease. This disease can happen to anyone at any time but it often begins to present itself in middle age adults. Kennedy’s disease causes difficulty when you swallow and may make it difficult to chew your food.

It can also reveal itself in atrophy of the tongue, facial, and jaw muscles. If you notice symptoms like these, seek immediate medical attention.

Cardiomyopathy is when you start to feel muscle dystrophy in the heart, changing the way the heart is functioning. When you have this disease, you might not show any symptoms early on. However, if you notice leg swelling, unusual tiredness or shortness of breath, cardiomyopathy might be the cause.

This happens because the heart can’t work as it should and might lead to fainting, dizziness or irregular heartbeats.

When you have weepy eyes, low eye pressure, or weakness in the eye muscles, it might be myotonic dystrophy. This causes the muscles around the eyes to waste away and can cause a variety of different eye issues like cataracts.

A cataract is an eye can be a sign of muscular dystrophy. This happens when the lends of the eye becomes clouded and makes it difficult to see. If you notice you see faded colors or have difficulty seeing at night, trouble with bright lights or blurry vision, you might have myotonic dystrophy.

Most men who have myotonic dystrophy also experience hormonal imbalances. This can lead men to go bald early and will often develop when the guy is in his early 30’s. When there is testicular atrophy in guys it may be an endocrine disorder that causes infertility.

There isn’t a cure for muscular degeneration. However, there are many things you can do to keep your muscles strong and healthy. Here are some simple solutions to keep your muscles healthy.

1. Exercise Often: When your muscles are becoming weaker, one of the best ways to slow down that process is to work out regularly. When you exercise daily with low-intensity physical activity and stretching, you will stimulate your muscles and encourage them to grow naturally.
2. Eat Vitamin D and E Foods: Muscular weakness is often a symptom of vitamin deficiencies. Eat vitamin rich foods like salmon, cheese, eggs, almonds, sardines, shrimp, avocados, broccoli, and olive oil to keep your body well nourished.
3. Use Tumeric: Tumeric is an old Indian spice that has curcumin in it. Curcumin might be useful in preventing muscle dystrophy.
4. Drink Green Tea: Green tea is a superfood that can help prevent a variety of problems in the body. According to different studies, when you drink seven cups of green tea each day it might help combat the oxidative stress in your muscles. This will help slow down the deterioration of the muscles.
5. Bathe in Baking Soda: Baking soda is alkaline and can, therefore, help your muscles cut down on inflammation, removing the aches and pains.

If you notice you have any of the above symptoms, make sure you go see your doctor right away. Muscle dystrophy is a serious disease that needs to be treated by a medical professional.

Have you ever experienced any of these symptoms? Let us know in the comments. Know anyone who suffers from muscular dystrophy or who has had any of these symptoms? Send them this article to help them stay healthy!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!