What is proximal limb weakness?

Proximal myopathy presents as symmetrical weakness of proximal upper and/or lower limbs. There is a broad range of underlying causes including drugs, alcohol, thyroid disease, osteomalacia, idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), hereditary myopathies, malignancy, infections and sarcoidosis.

What are proximal and distal group of muscles?

The distal muscles are those farther from the center of the body and include the muscles of the lower arms and legs and the hands and feet. Conversely, the proximal muscles are the muscles closest to the center of the body such as the muscles of the shoulder, pelvis, and upper arms and legs.

Proximal muscle weakness affects muscles closest to the body’s midline, while distal muscle weakness affects muscles further out on the limbs. Proximal muscle weakness can be seen in Cushing’s syndrome and hyperthyroidism.

What is proximal arm weakness?

The main function of these muscles is to lift the arms. The first sign of proximal weakness is difficulty in raising the arms above a horizontal level. Shoulder conditions like supraspinatus tendonitis are often confused as proximal weakness. In myopathies , usually proximal arm weakness is associated with proximal leg weakness.

What is a proximal limb?

Proximal(adj) situated near the point of attachment or origin; as, the proximal part of a limb. Proximal(adj) of or pertaining to that which is proximal; as, the proximal bones of a limb.

What is proximal leg?

Proximal is one of these terms, and refers to the end of the bone that is closest to the center of the body. Proximal fibula refers to a specific point on a particular bone. Two long bones are present in the lower leg of humans, running from the ankle up to the knee. These are the tibia and the fibula. On the inside of the leg is the tibia bone.