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Weakness
Alternate Names : Lack of Strength, Muscle Weakness
What to Expect at your Health Care Provider's Office
The medical history will be obtained and a physical examination performed.
Medical history questions documenting the weakness in detail may include:
- Time pattern
- When did the weakness begin?
- Did it begin with an illness or injury?
- Did it occur suddenly or gradually?
- Is the weakness worse in the morning or at night?
- Is the weakness noticed only after strenuous activity or exercise?
- Did it start following a typical viral illness, such as a cold?
- Did it start after a vaccination?
- Quality
- Is the weakness constant or does it come and go, sometimes effecting different parts of your body?
- Does the weakness affect breathing?
- Does it affect talking, chewing, or swallowing?
- Does it affect walking, climbing stairs, sitting, getting up?
- Does it affect use of the hands, arms, or shoulders?
- Is there pain with the weakness?
- Is there numbness or tingling with the weakness?
- Location
- Is the weakness limited to a specific area?
- Has the area of weakness increased or decreased?
- Aggravating factors
- What makes the weakness worse?
- Physical activity
- Rest
- Hunger
- Fatigue
- Pain
- Stress
- Relieving factors
- Does anything help relieve the weakness?
- Other symptoms
- What other symptoms are also present?
- Fever
- Injury
- Pain
- Numbness or tingling
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Headaches
- Changes in vision
- Change in skin color or temperature of the area affected
- Change in mental state, alertness, or responses
- Additional important information
- What medications are being taken?
- Are there any known allergies?
Physical examination may include special attention paid to examination of heart, lungs, and thyroid gland. If there is localized weakness, the examination will focus on the nerve and muscle functions.
Diagnostic tests that may be performed include:
After seeing your health care provider:
You may want to add a diagnosis related to weakness to your personal medical record.
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Jump to another section
• Definition
• Weakness: Overview & Considerations
• Weakness: Common Causes
• Weakness: Home Care & Treatment
• Call your Health Care Provider if
• What to Expect at your Health Care Provider's Office
Topics that might be of interest to you Diseases & Conditions
• Addison's Disease
• Allergies
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• Autoimmune Disorders
• Botulism
• Cerebral Palsy
• Dermatomyositis
• Guillain-Barre Syndrome
• Hyperthyroidism
• Mononucleosis
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Poliomyelitis
• Stroke
• The Flu
Tests & Exams
• CBC
• Nerve Conduction Velocity
• Thyroid Function Tests
• Urinalysis
Other Topics
• Confusion
• Insecticide
• Muscle Cramps
• Numbness and Tingling
• Peripheral
• Physical Examination
• Shellfish
• Spasticity
Review Date : 11/17/2003
Reviewed By : David Webner, M.D., Sports Medicine Fellow, Crozer-Keystone Family Practice Program, Springfield, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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