Many people struggle with muscle fatigue. Sometimes muscle fatigue is associated with some syndromes, such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia. Sometimes muscle fatigue is the result of "deconditioning" (also known as couch potato syndrome). Some medications and toxins can cause muscle fatigue. One of the most common causes of muscle fatigue is anemia.
Anemia causes muscle fatigue because not enough oxygen gets to the muscle cells. Anemia is a condition where there are either too few oxygen-carrying red blood cells in your blood and/or the red blood cells are abnormal and cannot carry oxygen. Clearly, if the blood cannot deliver enough oxygen to the muscle cells, they cannot function maximally and you develop muscle fatigue.
There's another reason why anemia causes muscle fatigue. Your muscles can and do function beyond their normal capacity by utilizing anaerobic metabolism. Anaerobic metabolism cannot be maintained for very long and it creates an oxygen debt, and oxygen debt causes muscle fatigue.
This is easy to understand if you think about doing something more physically demanding than usual, like running hard to catch a bus. Afterwards, you feel muscle fatigue and oxygen debt. Your muscles feel weak and maybe a little shaky. You are hot and sweaty, and probably flushed. And you are short of breath. In fact, you may be gulping air. That's the anaerobic metabolism and oxygen debt of muscle fatigue.
After extraordinary exertion, your body is trying to get more oxygen-carrying blood to your muscles. The muscle fatigue and shakiness are caused by the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles caused by anaerobic metabolism. Now you need extra oxygen to get rid of the lactic acid, and you will feel muscle fatigue until you get it.
Anemia causes muscle fatigue in exactly the same way, except that it is worse. Muscle fatigue due to anemia occurs after very little effort and takes a long time to resolve. With severe anemia, you can experience muscle fatigue that persists for a couple of hours just by walking out to get the mail.
If you go to a doctor because you have muscle fatigue, the first thing he or she will do is check for anemia. Several things can cause anemia, and one of the most common is nutritional deficiency. Deficiencies of iron and vitamin B12 are common causes of anemia.
If you have muscle fatigue, vitamin B1-2 may help. People often have vitamin B12 deficiency because their digestive systems can't absorb it well. The B12 Patch is an effective way to get enough vitamin B12 because it is absorbed through your skin. The B12 Patch may be the answer for your muscle fatigue.
