What is muscle atrophy?
When an illness or accident makes moving an arm or legs difficult or impossible, the loss of mobility can lead to muscle atrophy. Without frequent movement, your arm or leg may seem smaller over time, but not shorter than the one you can move.
Muscle atrophy causes your muscles to seem smaller than usual. Malnutrition, age, heredity, a lack of physical exercise, or certain medical disorders can all cause muscle atrophy.
The time it takes for your muscles to atrophy is determined by your age, fitness level, and the reason for atrophy. Muscle atrophy caused by disuse can begin after two to three weeks of not utilising your muscles. Depending on your health, neurogenic muscle atrophy may happen sooner.
Causes of muscle atrophy
- Being bedridden for a long time
- Ageing
- Excessive alcohol intake
- Peripheral nerve and spinal injuries
- Stroke
Symptoms of muscle atrophy
Muscle atrophy symptoms vary based on the source of your ailment. Muscular mass loss is the most visible symptom of muscle atrophy. Other symptoms of muscular atrophy include:
- Weakness of the arm & leg
- Tingling & numbness in the arms and legs
- Swallowing & speaking difficulties
- Weakness of the face
- Continous memory loss
- Trouble in walking and maintaining balance
Diagnosis of muscle atrophy
If muscle atrophy is caused by another ailment, you may need to be tested to determine the reason. Your doctor will also ask for a detailed medical history.
Your doctor may also request tests to aid in diagnosis and rule out specific conditions. Among these tests are:
- X-ray
- CT scan
- MRI scan
- Nerve or muscle biopsy
- Electromyography (EMG)
- Nerve conduction studies
Treatment of muscle atrophy
The treatment you receive will be determined by your diagnosis and the severity of your muscle loss. Any undiagnosed medical issues must be treated. Treatments for muscular atrophy often used include:
- Physical therapy
- Surgery
- Ultrasound therapy
- Surgery
- Dietary modifications
Surgery may be required if your tendons, ligaments, skin, or muscles are excessively tight and prohibit you from moving. This is known as contracture deformity.
If your muscular shrinkage is caused by starvation, surgery may be able to repair the deformity. It may also be able to help you if a torn tendon has caused your muscular atrophy.
