Definition of Muscle function loss:

Muscle function loss is when a muscle doesn't work or move normally. The medical term for complete loss of muscle function is paralysis.

Considerations:

Loss of muscle function may be caused by:

• A disease of the muscle itself (myopathy)
• A disease of the nervous system: nerve damage (neuropathy), or spinal cord injury, or brain damage (stroke or other brain injury)

The loss of muscle function after these types of events can be severe, and often will not completely return.

Paralysis can be temporary or permanent. It can affect a small area (localized) or be widespread (generalized). It may affect one side (unilateral) or both sides (bilateral).

If the paralysis affects the lower half of the body and both legs it is called paraplegia. It if affects both arms and legs, it is called quadriplegia. If the paralysis affects the muscles that cause breathing, it is quickly life threatening.

Common Causes:

Diseases of the muscle that cause muscle-function loss include:

• Alcohol-associated myopathy
• Dermatomyositis and polymyositis
• Muscular dystrophy

Diseases of the nervous system that cause muscle function loss include:

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease)
• Bell's palsy
• Botulism
• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Neuropathy
• Paralytic shellfish poisoning
• Periodic paralysis
• Peroneal dystrophy
• Polio
• Spinal cord injury
• Stroke