Muscle problems related to these medical conditions are usually mild.
Treatment of your thyroid disorder can help ease the symptoms.
However, in some rare cases, myopathy related to thyroid disease can be severe and debilitating.
Verywell / Laura Porter
This article will talk about thyroid disease and how it can cause pain and weakness.
It will discuss thyroid muscle disease symptoms and how a healthcare provider can diagnose and treat the disease.
Creatinine kinase is a muscle enzyme released into the blood when a muscle is injured.
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However, your creatinine kinase level is not necessarily linked to the severity of yourmuscle pain.
Rarely, hypothyroidism can cause severe muscle symptoms.
One example is Hoffman’s syndrome.
This is when a person develops muscle hypertrophy (enlarged muscles).
It can lead to significant muscle stiffness, weakness, and pain.
Rhabdomyolysis, a condition where muscle breaks down rapidly, is a rare complication of hypothyroidism.
It’s often triggered by the combination of being hypothyroid and doing strenuous exercise.
It may also occur when people take a statin, which is a cholesterol-lowering medication.
Diagnosis
Hypothyroid myopathy is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical examination, and diagnostic tests.
You may have a blood test to measure creatinine kinase.
Your healthcare provider may recommend other tests, such aselectromyography.
Amuscle biopsyis a minor surgical procedure that removes a small muscle sample for microscopic examination.
This procedure is safe.
It usually takes several months for muscle weakness to improve.
People with hyperthyroid myopathy may experience weakness in the throat, face, and respiratory muscles.
Rarely, the weakness can involve the muscles that help you swallow and breathe.
The causes of myopathy with hyperthyroidism are not well understood.
They may also order blood tests, such as athyroid function panel.
The blood creatinine kinase level is generally normal with hyperthyroid myopathy.Your healthcare provider may recommend electromyography.
Hyperthyroid myopathy causes muscle weakness throughout the body that may rarely affect the muscles that control swallowing and breathing.
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