A delay in diagnosis and treatment results in permanent damage to the peroneal nerve
A young gym trainer who lost 10 kg in 15 days suffered temporary paralysis on his right foot due to drastic weight loss. The 30-year-old rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences and was diagnosed with Slimmer’s paralysis. According to experts, it happens when your legs lose fat pads and compress the nerve that controls movement and sensation in the lower leg, foot, and toes.
Doctors said excessive workouts in the gym to lose weight can lead to such injuries. “Although this is a very rare case, my first here may be similar cases are unreported. Obsessively working out at the gym to lose weight can even lead to dislocated shoulders, back pain, and neck pain, besides affecting the hip joint. We see a lot of the latter from gym-goers as they go to fitness centres that are uncontrolled and unsupervised,” Dr. Vivek Shankar, additional professor in the Department of Orthopedics, AIIMS, told the Times of India.
According to Dr. Shankar, this kind of rapid weight loss follows a period of binge eating. To counter this, he underwent an intentional rapid weight loss, equivalent to 13 per cent of his body weight in just two weeks. Soon after, the foot drop occurred. Tests revealed no infections or metabolic disorders, leading doctors to attribute the condition to the sudden weight loss.
The case, published in the British Medical Journal, describes how the trainer first experienced a “right-sided foot drop” a year ago. He had participated in a bodybuilding competition and then engaged in two days of binge eating, predominantly carbohydrates, leading to swelling in both lower limbs and a sudden increase in body weight.
Dr. Shankar said the trainer’s treatment included physiotherapy, nutritional support, and the use of external biomechanical devices to stabilize his gait and improve limb function.
What is Slimmer’s paralysis?
Experts say slimmer’s paralysis, also known as peroneal neuropathy, is a mononeuropathy of the lower extremities resulting in foot drop, which occurs following rapid and significant weight loss. A delay in diagnosis and treatment results in permanent damage to the peroneal nerve.
The increased use of weight loss medications, bariatric surgery, and other extreme diet trends may also lead to an increased incidence of peroneal nerve injury.
Treatment is either conservative or surgical, depending on the location and severity of peroneal nerve involvement.
Other risks due to sudden weight loss
When seeking weight loss, most people are looking for quicker weight to shed kilos. So, it is best that your doctor decides if several prescription medications that cause rapid weight loss are safe for you. In any rapid weight loss programme – be it medicines or rigorous exercises, what really burns fat is not a pill or type of food but the substantial reduction of calories, combined with exercise.
A few other serious risks of sudden weight loss include:
- Gallstones, which occur in 12–25 per cent of people losing large amounts of weight over several months
- Dehydration, which can be avoided by drinking plenty of fluids
- Malnutrition, which usually results from not eating enough protein for weeks at a time
- Electrolyte imbalances, which can be life-threatening
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Constipation
- Menstrual irregularities
- Hair and muscle loss
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