Myalgia is the medical term for muscle pain. Myalgia is a symptom of many diseases. The most common cause of acute myalgia is the overuse of a muscle or group of muscles; another likely cause is viral infection, especially when there has been no trauma.

Myalgia
Other namesMuscle pain, muscle ache
One of the myalgic symptoms
SpecialtyRheumatology

Long-lasting myalgia can be caused by metabolic myopathy, some nutritional deficiencies, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome.

Causes edit

The most common causes of myalgia are overuse, injury, and strain. Myalgia might also be caused by allergies, diseases, medications, or as a response to a vaccination. Dehydration at times results in muscle pain as well, especially for people involved in extensive physical activities such as workout.

Muscle pain is also a common symptom in a variety of diseases, including infectious diseases, such as influenza, muscle abscesses, Lyme disease, malaria, trichinosis or poliomyelitis;[1] autoimmune diseases, such as celiac disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome or polymyositis;[1][2] gastrointestinal diseases, such as non-celiac gluten sensitivity (which can also occur without digestive symptoms) and inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis).[3]

The most common causes are:[citation needed]

  • Injury or trauma, including sprains, hematoma
  • Overuse: using a muscle too much, too often, including protecting a separate injury
  • Chronic tension

Muscle pain occurs with:

Overuse edit

Overuse of a muscle is using it too much, too soon or too often.[7] One example is repetitive strain injury. See also:

Injury edit

The most common causes of myalgia by injury are: sprains and strains.[7]

Autoimmune edit

Metabolic defect edit

Other edit

Withdrawal syndrome from certain drugs edit

Sudden cessation of high-dose corticosteroids, opioids, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, caffeine, or alcohol can induce myalgia.[citation needed]

Treatment edit

When the cause of myalgia is unknown, it should be treated symptomatically. Common treatments include heat, rest, paracetamol, NSAIDs, massage, cryotherapy and muscle relaxants.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Dolores musculares: MedlinePlus enciclopedia médica". medlineplus.gov (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  2. ^ Vitali, Claudio; Del Papa, Nicoletta (February 2015). "Pain in primary Sjögren's syndrome". Best Practice & Research. Clinical Rheumatology. 29 (1): 63–70. doi:10.1016/j.berh.2015.05.002. ISSN 1532-1770. PMID 26267000.
  3. ^ Tovoli, Francesco (2015). "Clinical and diagnostic aspects of gluten related disorders". World Journal of Clinical Cases. 3 (3): 275–284. doi:10.12998/wjcc.v3.i3.275. ISSN 2307-8960. PMC 4360499. PMID 25789300.
  4. ^ a b Balon R, Segraves RT, eds. (2005). Handbook of Sexual Dysfunction. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780824758264.
  5. ^ a b Wylie KR, ed. (2015). ABC of Sexual Health. John Wiley & Sons. p. 75. ISBN 9781118665565.
  6. ^ a b "Postorgasmic illness syndrome". Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD). National Institutes of Health. 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  7. ^ a b MedlinePlus
  8. ^ Glueck, CharlesJ; Conrad, Brandon (2013). "Severe vitamin D deficiency, myopathy, and rhabdomyolysis". North American Journal of Medical Sciences. 5 (8): 494–495. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.117325. ISSN 1947-2714. PMC 3784929. PMID 24083227.
  9. ^ Shmerling, Robert H (April 25, 2016). "Approach to the patient with myalgia". UpToDate. Retrieved 2018-05-27.

External links edit