Muscle Pain
Muscle pain is a common complaint. Often, muscle pain occurs at night, leading to more or less severe cramps that disrupt sleep. However, muscle pain can also be present around the clock and have a deep, muscle soreness-like character. Muscle pain can occur during rest and after exertion. It usually affects the leg muscles in the upper and lower legs, but muscle pain can also occur in the arms.
Many different diseases can cause muscle pain. However, muscle pain often occurs for unknown reasons without any underlying disease – this is referred to as “idiopathic” muscle pain. Therefore, in the consultation, the focus is usually on searching for a disease that could be the cause of the symptoms. Possible causes of muscle pain include inflammation of the muscles, metabolic disorders in the muscles, or side effects of medications. Disease of the nerves that supply the muscles can also cause pain in the muscles. A special case of muscle pain is the so-called “restless legs” syndrome, in which muscle pain occurs at rest (and often when falling asleep), which immediately disappears upon movement.
Diagnostic options for muscle pain and suspicion of muscle diseases:
- Clinical examination of the muscles (especially muscle strength)
- Evaluation of current medication and its effect on the muscles
- Electrophysiological examination of the muscles (e.g., using needle electrodes in the so-called electromyogram EMG)
- Metabolic testing (usually blood tests)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the muscle
- Genetic testing, if there is suspicion of an inherited muscle disease
- Treatment of muscle pain (often with medication, but also with physiotherapy, behavioral measures)