The Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria damages muscles through inflammation and immune system disruption. Here’s how it works:
How Lyme Bacteria Affect Muscles:
1. Invasion of Tissues:
• After entering the bloodstream through a tick bite, Borrelia burgdorferi can invade tissues, including muscles, joints, and nerves.
• The bacteria can hide in connective tissues like collagen, where they are less visible to the immune system.
2. Triggering Inflammation:
• The body’s immune system detects the bacteria and overreacts, releasing inflammatory chemicals (cytokines).
• This inflammation causes muscle pain, swelling, and tissue damage, leading to symptoms like soreness, stiffness, and weakness.
3. Immune System Confusion (Autoimmune Response):
• In some cases, the immune system mistakes healthy tissues for the bacteria because of molecular mimicry (when bacterial proteins resemble human tissue).
• This can cause the body to attack its own muscles, leading to ongoing inflammation and damage.
4. Toxin Release:
• While Lyme bacteria don’t produce classic toxins like some other bacteria, their presence disrupts cell functions, causing oxidative stress, tissue damage, and inflammation.
5. Nerve Involvement:
• The bacteria can also infect nerves (neuroborreliosis), disrupting the signals that control muscle movement and causing:
• Muscle twitching
• Weakness
• Spasms
Summary:
The bacteria causes indirect damage by:
• Triggering an inflammatory response
• Hiding in connective tissues, causing chronic inflammation
• Disrupting nerve signals that control muscles
• Possibly confusing the immune system into attacking muscle tissues.
This chain reaction leads to muscle pain, weakness, and spasms seen in Lyme disease.
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