Muscular atrophy is a disorder that consists of the wear, loss or decrease of skeletal muscle. It is caused by an imbalance between protein synthesis and its degradation. It affects the nerve cells of the skeletal muscles, generating partial or total paralysis. This disorder causes the loss of muscle strength and greatly affects daily actions. The muscles progressively wear out and the patient has increasing difficulty performing activities such as walking.
Causes of muscle atrophy
Three categories of muscle atrophy
Muscle atrophy is caused by an imbalance between protein synthesis and its degradation. There are three types of muscle atrophy: psychological, pathological and neurogenic.
– Psychological atrophy is caused by the affected person not using the muscles regularly. In this case the remedy is to exercise. It affects people who, for whatever reason, spend the day sitting or because they cannot move their limbs due to health problems.
– Pathological atrophy is caused by aging, starvation and some diseases. Sometimes it is caused by excessive use of corticosteroids.
– Neurogenic atrophy is due to a lack of connection between nerves and muscles. It occurs in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), polio, rheumatoid arthritis or Guillian-Barre syndrome, among others. It may also be due to having suffered injuries from trauma or burns.
Symptoms of muscle atrophy
Symptoms appear as atrophy develops
Muscle atrophy does not present prior symptoms but rather they appear as the atrophy develops. The most frequent are:
– Decrease in muscle mass of arms and legs.
– Feeling of weakness in the extremities.
– Difficulty performing basic movements.
Diagnosis of muscle atrophy
Medical history, physical examination, and blood tests
To make the diagnosis, the doctor needs to review the clinical history and perform an examination of the patient to verify the loss of muscle mass. In addition, he orders other tests such as blood tests, x-rays and MRI.
Treatment and medication of muscle atrophy
Physical exercise
The treatment for muscle atrophy is identical in most cases. When there is a loss of muscle mass, the objective is to recover the lost mass. The easiest case is that of muscle atrophy due to disuse, since it is easily reversible by performing specific exercises to recover muscle mass. You must also increase your protein intake.
In the case of neurological involvement, the exercises are complemented with other specific exercises in which orthopedic elements are used.
Prevention of muscle atrophy
Good diet and daily exercise
Preventing muscle atrophy due to disuse is simple, since we only have to improve our diet and exercise so that the muscle does not atrophy. Avoiding a sedentary lifestyle is also essential to prevent this pathology from appearing. The diet should also be rich in protein, but balanced. Exercise must be daily although it can be low intensity.
This article was published in La Vanguardia on November 7, 2020
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