Lou Gehrig’s Disease: Early Symptoms You Should Know
Lou Gehrig’s disease, medically called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a progressive neurological disease that damages the motor neurons responsible for voluntary muscle movement. Early symptoms can be subtle and vary considerably from person to person.
1. Weakness in one hand or arm
A person may suddenly find it harder to grip objects, turn keys, use utensils, write, or perform other familiar hand movements. Hand weakness or clumsiness is a common early presentation.
2. Tripping or difficulty walking
Early ALS can cause weakness in the feet, ankles, or legs, leading to frequent tripping, stumbling, or difficulty performing normal activities.
3. Muscle twitching
Small involuntary muscle movements, called fasciculations, can occur in the arms, shoulders, legs, or tongue. Twitching alone, however, does not mean someone has ALS; it has many other possible causes.
4. Muscle cramps
Persistent or recurrent muscle cramps can accompany ALS, particularly when they occur together with progressive weakness or twitching.
5. Slurred speech
When ALS affects the muscles involved in speaking, speech may become slower, slurred, strained, or increasingly difficult to understand.
6. Trouble swallowing
Difficulty swallowing food or liquids can occur, sometimes accompanied by choking or coughing while eating or drinking.
7. Difficulty holding the head or maintaining posture
Weakness in the neck and upper-body muscles can make it increasingly difficult to hold the head upright or maintain normal posture.
8. Progressive muscle wasting
As motor neurons are damaged, the muscles they control can become smaller and weaker. This tends to develop along with progressive loss of strength rather than appearing as an isolated symptom.
9. Changes in emotional expression or behavior
Some people with ALS experience episodes of laughing, crying, or yawning that seem inappropriate or difficult to control. Cognitive or behavioral changes can also occur in some people.
10. Increasing difficulty with everyday tasks
A gradual decline in the ability to perform familiar activities—walking, dressing, handling objects, speaking, or swallowing—can be an important clue when the problem continues to progress
