Bilateral weakness in the leg muscles can be as mild as a generalized feeling of fatigue in your legs or as extreme as complete paralysis. Bilateral weakness indicates a problem in your central nervous system -- in your brain, spinal cord or nerves. Many disease processes or trauma can cause bilateral weakness in your legs.
Causes
Bilateral leg weakness can be caused by many things. For example, infection is is thought to be involved in 40 percent of cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder of the nervous system, according to an article in a 2008 issue of "Neurology." This weakness may also be caused Tick paralysis or West Nile virus. Trauma or disease that causes damage to your spinal cord or a tumor compressing the nerves that affect your legs can also cause this symptom. A stroke may also cause this problem. Diseases such as diabetic neuropathy cause nerve damage, in particular to the extremities. Genetic problems such as muscular dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease or multiple sclerosis can also cause bilateral leg weakness.
Symptoms
Bilateral weakness can be mild, moderate or involve complete limpness of the legs. This can also be accompanied by loss of sensation and/or pain. Onset may be gradual, as in the case of diabetic neuropathy, because the damage to the nerves progresses over time. Weakness may also be sudden, as in the case of traumatic injury to your brain or spinal cord. The significance of bilateral weakness is that the damage to the nerves is occurring either throughout the entire nervous system, as is the case in diabetic neuropathy, or centrally, as is the case in spinal cord involvement.
Treatment
Treatment of bilateral leg weakness depends on the cause of the problem. In the case of infectious or genetic causes, the treatment is largely to reduce symptoms, because a cure is not always available. In trauma, the goal is to alleviate the pressure on the spinal cord as soon as possible to preserve the nerve. The same is true of disc disease; correction of the structural problem alleviates the symptoms in many cases.
Complications
Bilateral weakness of the legs can progress to permanent nerve and muscle damage. In severe and untreated cases, it can lead to total flaccidity. Loss of sensation in your legs or shooting pain would indicate a more severe problem. Consult your doctor about your concerns.
References
- Missouri Department of Health and Human Services: Acute Flaccid Paralysis and West Nile Virus Infection
- American Heart Association: Stroke
- American Journal of Neuroradiology: Acute Flaccid Paralysis in Infants and Young Children with Enterovirus 71 Infection: MR Imaging Findings and Clinical Correlates
