Muscle Control Loss
WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR
* Any loss of muscle control requires medical attention.
What Your Symptom Is Telling You
Ever try to follow directions from someone who is shouting "Turn right!" while urgently pointing to the left? In your confusion, you can easily miss the turn altogether and keep going straight ahead. In essence, the same sort of confusion happens inside your brain when illness causes you to lose control of your muscles.
Losing control of your muscles means that a communications breakdown is happening in your nervous system, says John Byer, M.D., an associate professor of neurology at the University of Missouri—Columbia School of Medicine. Somewhere in the complex network of nerves that travels from the brain through the spinal cord to the muscles, the message that you want to move your arm, leg or other body part is getting garbled or isn't being translated properly.
Loss of muscle control has a multitude of causes, including extreme exhaustion, drug and alcohol abuse, head injury, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's disease, stroke and catalepsy (a rare form of muscle weakness that affects some people when they experience strong emotions, such as intense anger or joy).
Symptom Relief
Loss of muscle control is almost always serious. Any loss of muscle control, even if it lasts for less than ten minutes, should be brought to the attention of your physician, because early diagnosis and treatment may improve your chances of recovery and prevent further damage to your nerves, muscles and brain. With the exception of exhaustion (see Fatigue on page 179), conditions that cause loss of muscle control involve a comprehensive program of medical treatment that must come from a physician.