What Could be Causing Muscle Weakness in Cold Weather?

What Causes Muscle Weakness In Cold Weather?

Muscle weakness in cold weather can have various causes, just like most other symptoms. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose muscle weakness in cold weather, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "muscle weakness in cold weather" as a symptom. Here are two possibilities:

Myasthenia Gravis
Multiple Sclerosis

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

low lymphocyte count

gradual decline in speaking ability

severe vision disturbances

numb/burning/tingling extremities

minor cold weather muscle spasms

poor tolerance of heat

fatigue after slight exertion

inability to tell hot from cold

severe muscle weakness

involuntary eye movement

incoherent speech

multiple sclerosis

... and more than 10 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of muscle weakness in cold weather:

Cause	Probability	Status
Myasthenia Gravis	90%	Confirm
Multiple Sclerosis	67%	Possible

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate problems caused by cold/damp weather, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Do you experience increased muscle weakness in cold weather?

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No
→ Yes, occasionally / slightly
→ Yes, regularly / definitely
→ Yes, frequently / severely

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate no cold weather muscle weakness, minor cold weather muscle weakness, cold weather muscle weakness or severe cold weather muscle weakness, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Multiple Sclerosis

Myasthenia Gravis

Very cold (or very hot) weather may increase weakness in myasthenia gravis patients.

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