Symptoms of Somatic Nervous System Disorders
The symptoms of disorders affecting the Somatic Nervous System are:
- Muscle Weakness: Difficulty in performing voluntary movements, lifting objects, or maintaining posture due to reduced muscle strength.
- Fatigue: Persistent tiredness or exhaustion, especially during physical activity, resulting from muscle weakness or impaired neuromuscular function.
- Numbness and Tingling: Sensations of numbness, tingling, or pins-and-needles in affected body regions, often indicating nerve damage or dysfunction.
- Loss of Coordination: Difficulty in coordinating movements, maintaining balance, or performing precise motor tasks due to impaired neuromuscular control.
- Muscle Spasms: Involuntary muscle contractions or spasms, causing sudden, uncontrolled movements, cramps, or stiffness.
- Paralysis: Partial or complete loss of muscle function and sensation in affected body regions, typically resulting from severe nerve damage or spinal cord injury.
- Difficulty Swallowing or Breathing: Impaired ability to swallow food or liquids, or difficulty breathing, which can occur in conditions affecting muscles involved in these functions, such as ALS or myasthenia gravis.
- Pain: Chronic or acute pain in muscles, joints, or nerves, often accompanied by stiffness, tenderness, or shooting sensations, indicating underlying nerve damage or inflammation.
- Gait Abnormalities: Altered walking pattern or gait, characterized by limping, dragging of the feet, or unsteady movements, commonly observed in conditions affecting motor control centers or peripheral nerves.
Somatic Nervous System
The somatic nervous system (SNS) controls voluntary movements and reflex arcs by transmitting sensory information to the central nervous system (CNS) and motor commands from the CNS to skeletal muscles. It consists of motor neurons that stimulate muscle contractions and sensory neurons that relay information from sensory organs. The SNS enables conscious control over bodily movements and responds to external stimuli. It plays an important role in activities such as walking, grasping, and reflex actions.
In this article, we will study the somatic nervous system, its components, functions, mechanism of action and disorders in detail.
Table of Content
- What is the Somatic Nervous System?
- What is Somatic Nervous System Made of?
- Components of the Somatic Nervous System
- Sensory Neurons
- Motor Neurons
- Neuromuscular Junctions
- Sensory Receptors
- Spinal Cord
- Brainstem and Motor Cortex
- Cranial Nerves
- Types of Somatic Nervous System
- 1. Afferent (Sensory) Nerves
- 2. Efferent (Motor) Nerves
- 3. Interneurons
- Importance of the Somatic Nervous System
- Difference Between SNS and ANS
- Mechanism of Somatic Nervous System
- Somatic Nervous System Functions
- Disorders that Affect Somatic Nervous System
- Symptoms of Somatic Nervous System Disorders
- Treatments for Somatic Nervous System Disorders