Neuromuscular diseases: muscle pain

Muscle pain is most frequently related to tension, overuse, or muscle injury from exercise or physically demanding work.

It can be a sign of conditions affecting your whole body, like some infections (including the flu) and disorders that affect connective tissues throughout the body (such as lupus). One common cause of muscle aches and pain is fibromyalgia, a condition that includes tenderness in your muscles and surrounding soft tissue, sleep difficulties, fatigue, and headaches.

Causes

The most common causes are:

• Injury or trauma including sprains and strains
• Overuse: using a muscle too much, too soon, too often
• Tension or stress

Muscle pain may also be due to:

• Certain drugs, including:
  • ACE inhibitors for lowering blood pressure
  • Cocaine
  • Statins for lowering cholesterol

• Dermatomyositis

• Electrolyte imbalances like too little potassium or calcium

• Fibromyalgia

• Infections, including:
  • Influenza (the flu)
  • Lyme disease
  • Malaria
  • Muscle abscess
  • Polio
  • Rocky Mountain spotted fever
  • Trichinosis (roundworm)

• Lupus

• Polymyalgia rheumatica

• Polymyositis

• Rhabdomyolysis