The loss of muscle function can be sudden or gradual, but it has the capacity to affect your life completely. For some, this just happens for a short time and they recover. For others, the loss of function is for life and may even get worse over time.
To fully understand your position and why this can lead to a disability, you may want to think about why there was a loss of function to begin with. This can play a big role in recovery times (if applicable) and the types of day-to-day changes you’ll see in your life. With that in mind, here are five major reasons it can happen:
- Nerve damage, also known as neuropathy, that may have occurred in an injury
- Spinal cord damage from an injury, which is known as myelopathy
- A muscular disease that may progress and has nothing to do with the nervous or skeletal systems
- A neuromuscular junction disease, which impacts the place where the nerves meet the muscles, making it harder or impossible for them to interact properly
- An issue with the brain, such as a stroke or a traumatic brain injury
Remember, some of these could also happen at the same time. For example, someone who has a stroke could also fall and strike their head, causing a TBI. Someone who has a nervous system disease could see issues with the nerves themselves and with the way that they interact with the muscles or the skeletal system. The body is incredibly complex and everything is intimately connected, so these things all work alongside one another.
If you do find yourself in this position, make sure you know what options you have and what legal steps to take to protect your financial future.