Adynamia: Characteristics And Causes Of This Movement Disorder
There are different pathologies that affect people’s movement, but one of the most intense is adynamia.
We are going to delve into everything related to this disorder to better understand how it develops, what its repercussions are and if there is any treatment with which those affected can experience improvement.
adynamia is a symptomatology that humans can suffer from in which the muscles of the body lose practically all of their strength which causes the person who suffers from it to have many difficulties in performing any type of movement, and is even unable to perform them.
This includes, of course, the very action of standing and walking, so the subject in question You will spend most of your time sitting or lying down, as you lack the energy to adopt another position that involves bipedalism, that is, leaning on one’s own legs.
Therefore, the condition of adynamia appears as a symptom in a large group of disorders whose origin can come from both a physical and psychological disorder. Later we will delve into some of them and see what differences arise between the different types.
The important thing, and what we must take into account, is that the adynamia It can present in multiple ways, depending on the pathology behind it and the characteristics of the individual Therefore, it will be vital for the health professional to make a correct evaluation to issue an appropriate diagnosis, which will allow appropriate treatment to be applied as soon as possible and thus ensure that the symptoms subside in the shortest time possible.
Types of weakness
The basic symptom of adynamia is muscle weakness , which is what is preventing the subject from making the movements of his body. The point is that this weakness can be true or perceived, depending on the cause that is causing it.
In that sense, The true weakness of the muscles would be that in which there is an organic cause that directly affects the muscles themselves, such as an injury or a defect in the fibers, for example. This would be a case of adynamia.
The other type of weakness would be the perceived In this case, the condition is not generated by a problem in the muscles, which apparently are fine at a physiological level, but rather the subject would be suffering from some alteration in their basal metabolism and this would make them have the sensation of not being able to move the muscles (and Indeed, I would not be able to move them while this situation lasted).
It is important here to keep in mind that, although the terminology of one of the weaknesses is called true, it does not mean that the other is not true, in the sense that, even if there is no neuromuscular dysfunction, something is happening to the weakness. person, either on an organic level or on a psychological level. Therefore, both are real causes, although one is called true and the other perceived, since the nomenclature meets another criterion, as we have already seen.
Causes
We have already anticipated that adynamia can occur in a wide variety of diseases, and therefore, in many cases, it is one more symptom of a group of symptoms that help the doctor identify the specific origin of the pathology. , in order to prepare an action plan aimed at curing the person, or at least achieving improvement.
1. Injury
One of the causes that can cause a lack of strength in the muscles is an injury or trauma What happens is that, generally, these types of events occur in very localized areas, so the mobility problems would be reduced to the muscles of the affected area, unless the trauma has been very severe and is involving a large part of the body (in an accident, for example). Therefore, this cause of adynamia is relatively easy to identify.
2. Hormonal problem
Certain endocrinological disorders can destabilize some hormones of our body and cause multiple effects, some of them compatible with adynamia, since we would perceive a lack of strength when moving, with the consequent difficulties that this would imply. One of the most common endocrine diseases that could cause this problem is hypothyroidism.
3. Autoimmune disease
Autoimmune diseases are another of the main causes of adynamia, and many of these pathologies, among their symptoms, include alterations in our ability to use muscles, whether due to inflammation, pain or other causes. Very clear examples of this type of disease would be celiac disease or lupus, among others
Cancer is a disease that encompasses so many assumptions and ways of attacking the body, that it is not surprising that some of them affect the mobility of the subject due to muscle exhaustion, so we would be faced with yet another possibility of generating adynamia in the subject.
5. Infection
Some types of infection in the body that have an effect at the muscular level could also cause an alteration in the ability to move in the person who suffers from it, so it could be concluded that adynamia is part of the symptomatology of the disease in question.
6. Psychological disorders
Although all the cases that we have seen so far correspond to organic diseases, we had previously indicated that these are not the only possibilities for suffering from adynamia, and that the cause may well not have a physical basis, but rather a psychological one, and not for This will affect the individual less, so it is important to always consider this route as well, since the person also suffers the effects of this disease.
Psychological disorders as common in the population as depression can include forms of adynamia in their symptoms, since many patients report feeling unable to move, due to extreme weakness (in this case, it would be perceived, as there is no specific injury to the muscles that affects their ability to contract).
It is not the only one, since in eating disorders, such as anorexia, muscle weakness could also occur in the person affected by said pathology compatible with the diagnosis of adynamia.
Returning to the question of the problem of diagnosis, it is worth highlighting that the professional must always evaluate all the possibilities, since there have been cases of people with a history of psychological problems (schizoaffective disorder, in the specific case at hand) who, manifesting symptoms of adynamia, they were referred to the mental health unit, only to later discover that they were actually suffering from severe anemia, in addition to nutritional problems and a lack of vitamins.
This case shows that, Although sometimes there may be a clear diagnosis at first, it is always advisable to be cautious and not close any doors, since there may be elements that we missed at first glance and are actually the true causes of the evil we are investigating (adynamia, in this case). To avoid these problems, there are protocols that professionals follow to the letter, to rule out each alternative without ignoring any of them.
Gamstorp episodic adynamia
We have reviewed the possible diseases and disorders that can lead to the appearance of adynamia, but we have left a very specific type of pathology for last, the so-called episodic adynamia of Gamstorp. This disease is also known as hyperkalemic periodic paralysis.
Is a rare disease, caused by mutations in certain genes of the individual (specifically in chromosome 17), whose alteration causes difficulties for neuronal communication through sodium channels, and is related to a high level of potassium in the subject’s body.
The reason for having left this pathology for last is that, in this case, adynamia, and also in a very extreme form, would make up practically all of the symptoms of this ailment. Patients who suffer from it indicate that they suffer from constant weakness in their muscles, leading to paralysis, and that this can appear for various reasons, whether due to changes in temperature, significant efforts, experiencing moments of high stress or even when using certain medications.
According to the studies, The paralysis suffered during this type of adynamia is concentrated in periods ranging from one to two hours and they tend to be more frequent first thing in the morning or after having rested after performing physical activity.
The positive part is that the episodic adynamia of Gamstorp improves as the patient’s age increases. You can also contribute to improvement through diet, reducing the intake of carbohydrates and those elements that contain too much potassium, such as bananas. Likewise, it is recommended to do moderate physical exercises that maintain good fitness without causing muscle paralysis.
