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| Myalgia | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Muscle pain, muscle ache |
 | |
| One of the myalgic symptoms | |
| Specialty | Rheumatology |
Myalgia or muscle pain is a painful sensation evolving from muscle tissue. It 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 injury.
Long-lasting myalgia can be caused by metabolic myopathy, some nutritional deficiencies, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome.
Causes
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.
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] and 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][4][5][6]
- 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:
- Rhabdomyolysis, associated with:
- Viral infections
- Compression injury leading to crush syndrome
- Drug-related
- Commonly fibrates and statins
- Occasionally ACE inhibitors, cocaine, and some retroviral drugs
- Severe potassium deficiency
- Fibromyalgia
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Auto-immune disorders, including:
- Mixed connective tissue disease
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Polymyalgia rheumatica
- Polymyositis
- Dermatomyositis
- Multiple sclerosis (neurologic pain localised to myotome)
- Infections, including:
- Other
Overuse
Overuse of a muscle is using it too much, too soon or too often.[10] One example is repetitive strain injury.
Injury
The most common causes of myalgia by injury are sprains and strains.[10]
Autoimmune
- Multiple sclerosis (neurologic pain interpreted as muscular)
- Myositis
- Mixed connective tissue disease
- Lupus erythematosus
- Fibromyalgia syndrome
- Familial Mediterranean fever
- Polyarteritis nodosa
- Devic's disease
- Morphea
- Sarcoidosis
Metabolic defect
- Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency
- Conn's syndrome
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypothyroidism
- Diabetes
- Hypogonadism
- Postorgasmic illness syndrome[7][8][9]
Other
- Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
- Channelopathy
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Stickler syndrome
- Hypokalemia
- Hypotonia
- Exercise intolerance
- Mastocytosis
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Eosinophilia myalgia syndrome
- Barcoo fever
- Herpes
- Hemochromatosis
- Delayed onset muscle soreness
- HIV/AIDS
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Tumor-induced osteomalacia
- Hypovitaminosis D
- Infarction[11]
Withdrawal syndrome from certain drugs
Sudden cessation of high-dose corticosteroids, opioids, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, caffeine, or alcohol can induce myalgia.[citation needed]
Treatment
When the cause of myalgia is unknown, it should be treated symptomatically. Common treatments include heat, rest, paracetamol, NSAIDs, massage, cryotherapy and muscle relaxants.[12]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Dolores musculares: MedlinePlus enciclopedia médica". medlineplus.gov (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-10-28.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Muscle Pain - Causes". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "Muscle aches". MedlinePlus. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Understanding Myalgia: Causes, Treatments, and Prevention". 8 September 2023.
- ^ a b Balon R, Segraves RT, eds. (2005). Handbook of Sexual Dysfunction. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780824758264.
- ^ a b Wylie KR, ed. (2015). ABC of Sexual Health. John Wiley & Sons. p. 75. ISBN 9781118665565.
- ^ a b "Postorgasmic illness syndrome". Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD). National Institutes of Health. 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Muscle aches: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia". Medlineplus.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Shmerling, Robert H (February 27, 2024). "Approach to the patient with myalgia". UpToDate.
