MUSCLE PAIN

Symptoms

For many people, tense, painful muscles are part of their everyday lives: a lack of exercise often causes these symptoms. A serious underlying disease may, however, also lead to muscle pain. Myalgia is the medical term for muscle pain.

Causes

Muscle pain can have many causes: they may simply represent a harmless muscle ache, or chronic tension due to incorrect loading. They may also be a manifestation of illness, for example in connection with rheumatism and inflammation or at the beginning of a cold or flu-like illness. Muscle pain can also be an indication of serious diseases. For example, muscular dystrophies or metabolic disorders of the muscles cause muscle pain, which is often accompanied by muscle weakness. A disturbance in blood flow to the muscles, which can also occur with blood vessel inflammation, can also lead to muscle pain. Muscle inflammation (myositis) can also cause myalgia. Sometimes muscle and calf cramps are also the first indication of diabetes or poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. Inflamed varicose veins can also cause muscle cramps. If muscle pain is accompanied by serious or unusual symptoms such as numbness or paralysis, this may be associated with other structural damage to the nervous system that must be clarified.