Tender muscles can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'minor' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose tender muscles, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Dermatomyositis | 97% | Confirm |
Epstein-Barr Virus | 23% | Unlikely |
Vitamin D Need | 13% | Unlikely |
Fluorosis | 1% | Ruled out |
West Nile Virus | 1% | Ruled out |
Silicone Disease | 1% | Ruled out |
Guillain-Barre Syndrome | 0% | Ruled out |
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity | 0% | Ruled out |
Do your muscles ache, or feel generally sore or tender to the touch for no obvious reason? Do not include sore muscles that are due to obvious causes such as flu or heavy exercise.
Possible responses:
→ No / there's an obvious reason / don't know→ Minor muscle soreness/tenderness in the past only → Major muscle soreness/tenderness in the past only → Current minor muscle soreness/tenderness → Current major muscle soreness/tenderness |
Muscle pains are a common symptom of SLE. Less common is actual muscle inflammation which occurs occasionally during the course of SLE.
Muscle pain can be due to food allergies. Such pains will disappear after elimination of the offending foods from the diet.
Gradually muscle pain is experienced in the large muscles, such as the thighs, back and shoulders. Pain in the lower back, buttocks or thighs is common, and is often the earliest symptom. Deep, aching muscle pain is common.
Flu-like illness and muscle aches are generally present in cases of malaria.
To test the effects of vitamin C in preventing muscle soreness, researchers at Western States Chiropractic College gave 3gm of vitamin C to students beginning 3 days before exposing them to the stress of exercise. The vitamin C group developed significantly less muscle soreness than did the control group. [Pain 1992;50: pp.317-21]
One third of patients with disseminated coccidioidomycosis have musculoskeletal involvement.