Muscle Atrophy

Muscle Atrophy






The term “atrophy” means wasting of body tissue or organ or muscles owing to injury, disease or lack of usage. Muscle atrophy is the muscle wastage or decrease in huge mass of muscle due to several reasons. It can be complete wastage of muscles or partial damage caused due to muscle weakness. In simple terms, muscle atrophy means loss of muscle tissue.

Types :

Disuse atrophy is the loss of muscle resulting from sedentary lifestyle due to lack of physical exercise or activity. Muscular atrophy caused on neurology background is called neurogenic atrophy which is caused by injury in the spinal card, weakness in the brain or other neuromuscular disorders.

Causes :

Very often, sedentary lifestyle is the cause for disuse atrophy of muscles. Medical conditions like Rheumatoid Arthritis, osteoarthritis, injury to the muscles, fracture and burns may cause atrophy. People who are confined to bed are at risk of developing disuse muscular atrophy. Given that, heart being the muscle requires to be on continuous exercise for staying healthy. Any organ for that matter, not put into use may lose function temporarily and becomes weak gradually.

It is not possible to reverse the permanent damage caused due to disuse atrophy but with repeated therapy and physical exercise, you can manage the disease to progress further.

Neurogenic atrophy is caused due to neuromuscular disease like weakness in spinal cord, injury to the brain, Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Guillain Barre Syndrome and diabetic neuropathy. Very often, when there is damage or weakness in the neurons it affects the underlying muscles and tissues.

People who have history of neurological disorder and people who are diabetic need to take steps to keep their muscles under continuous movement.

Malnutrition and consumption of alcohol may also cause muscular atrophy. Burns, spinal cord injury and infection in the brain can also produce muscle atrophy. In case if the atrophy is caused due to Lou Gehrig’s disease the damage caused to the nerves becomes irreversible. Carpel tunnel syndrome is an example of neurogenic muscle atrophy.

Symptoms :

The most common sign of this disease is the weakness and flabby muscles. The muscles become weak gradually when it is not used properly. In the case of neurogenic atrophy the symptoms are not quite evident. The affected person may have difficulty in moving their hands and leg muscles. They may lie in a stooped position and will have moderate to severe back pain.

Other symptoms of muscle atrophy include limited neck motion, rigid spinal cord and in rare cases heart failure. The affected person will show increased level of creatinine in blood test.

Treatment :

The mode of treatment may vary widely depending on the symptoms and intensity of the disease. It is easy to manage disuse muscle atrophy by practicing regular exercises. Anti-inflammatory drugs like corticosteroids are prescribed for decreasing inflammation and pain and for reducing the nerve compression.

Chiropractor therapy is recommended for curing muscle atrophy due to nervous background. Stretching exercises are highly beneficial for the affected person to reduce the compression in the nerves.

Surgery is the option for treating herniated disc if the condition cannot be improved by other therapies. However, the muscle atrophy in the advanced stage becomes incurable even with the help of modern medicines and treatment methods. You should see that the disease is not progressed and consult your doctor in the initial stages of the symptom.

Pictures of Muscle Atrophy :

Images, Pics, Pictures and Photos of Muscle Atrophy

Prevention :

Regular exercises will keep you away from muscle atrophy caused by disuse of muscles. Walking and swimming are the best exercise for keeping the muscles in healthy position.

Muscle Atrophy

Muscle Atrophy

What is Muscle Atrophy?

Have you ever experienced fracturing a limb and not being able to use it for quite some time? You will then realize that the other limb seems to appear bigger over the affected limb. This could be an indication of muscle atrophy. What then is muscle atrophy? Muscle atrophy or muscle wasting can be defined as the loss of muscle tissues. There are several conditions which would lead to muscle atrophy. The mere lack of exercise or a sedentary lifestyle may cause your muscles to atrophy. More serious conditions such as poliomyelitis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) which is popularly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS), inflammatory diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis and several other diseases would cause muscle disuse which eventually result to muscle wasting or atrophy. Sustaining an injury after a vehicular accident would also cause muscle atrophy and even the aging process would as well lead to it. More specifically, muscle atrophy can be classified into two:

Disuse atrophy
This primarily occurs due to lack of muscle use. When you have a sedentary way of living and you fail to indulge to any forms of exercise that permit muscle use, you may likely suffer from disuse atrophy. There are also other medical conditions which would limit your muscle use. A debilitated or bedridden patient would likewise also suffer from disuse atrophy due to the limited range of motion. Astronauts are also at risk for disuse atrophy because of the prolonged weightlessness they experience which would trigger calcium loss in the bones.

Neurogenic atrophy
When there is damage to a certain nerve that joins the muscles, neurogenic muscle atrophy is likely to occur. Of the two types of muscle atrophy, this is the more serious one. Compared to disuse atrophy, neurogenic atrophy takes place more suddenly. Conditions like amyotropic lateral sclerosis, Guillain Barre Syndrome, poliomyelitis and other diseases with neuromuscular involvement can be classified as neurogenic atrophy.

Muscle Atrophy Symptoms

Aside from the visible muscle wasting, the following symptoms may also be present in muscle atrophy.

• Problems in maintaining balance, as well as walking


• Weakness in the facial muscles


• Speaking may become a difficulty and memory loss may also be present


• Tingling and weakness in the extremities


• Loss of muscle coordination


• Numbness or tingling in arms or legs


• Gradual loss of movement


• The weakness may become progressive limiting your movement


• Easy fatigability

Most importantly, you should note for the danger signs of muscle atrophy which include the following:

• Changes in sensorium and sudden loss of consciousness


• Slurring of speech


• Local or generalized paralysis


• Eye pain with blurring or even sudden loss of vision


• Severe Headache

When you noted any of the above mentioned life-threatening symptoms of muscle atrophy, do not be reluctant to seek medical help because this may indicate an impending doom. There should not be a delay so as to prevent irreversible damages.

Muscle Atrophy Causes

Generally, there can be two causes of muscle atrophy. First off, this can be due to the lack of muscle use probably because of impaired mobility in cases of bedridden people and those with inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Damage to nerve can also cause neurogenic muscle atrophy. Some cases of muscle atrophy may be due to the normal process of aging. Nonetheless, this can also be specifically due to the following factors:

Disuse Atrophy Causes

• Becoming bedridden


• Dermatomyositis– This is a disease manifested by the presence of muscle inflammation and skin rash


• Sustaining an injury such as arm or leg fracture


• Malnutrition– This makes a person very weak to initiate even a single movement.


• Muscular Dystrophy– It is possible for someone to inherit this condition which is characterized by the gradual loss of muscle tissues leading to muscle weakness.


• Osteoarthritis– As people grow older, they may also likely suffer from a condition called osteoarthritis which commonly brings about pain and impairs mobility.


• Polymyositis– This is characterized by muscle inflammation which eventually leads to muscle weakness.


• Rheumatoid arthritis– This is a type of inflammatory joint disease which would also cause muscle atrophy.

Neurogenic Atrophy Causes

• Alcohol myopathy


• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – Former athlete, Lou Gehrig, was the first person to be diagnosed of this disease. This is a serious type of muscle weakness which may lead to death.


• Diabetic neuropathy– The nerve can also get damaged with high glucose levels.


• Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) – This is another type of autoimmune disease which also causes muscle weakness.


• Multiple Sclerosis- This is brought about by the demyelination of the protective cover of the nerve called myelin sheath which leads to muscle weakness and loss of muscle coordination.


• Neck or spinal cord injury


• Spinal cord atrophy– Some people are born with this condition which causes damage to the spinal cord leading to profound weakness.

Muscle Atrophy Diagnosis

Aside from the presence of clinical manifestations and thorough history taking, muscle atrophy can be confirmed through the following:

• CT scan


• Electromyography


• MRI


• Muscle/Nerve biopsy


• Nerve conduction analysis

Muscle Atrophy Treatment

There are varying modes on how to treat muscle atrophy and these may include the following:

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Exercise

This is the best way to treat muscle atrophy. Most types of disused atrophy can be cured with this, so long as there’s not a presence of a more serious condition like GBS, ALS and many others. The suggested exercises include brisk walking, swimming, jogging and other cardio exercises. However, before you indulge to any of these, it is imperative that you consult your physician first for any limitations.

Medications

Medications would usually include corticosteroids and other anti-inflammatory drugs to halt the inflammatory process, if there’s one.

Joint manipulation by a chiropractor

Ever heard of a chiropractor? A chiropractor is an individual licensed to do joint manipulation to correct impaired mobility. The joint is literally stretched to allow more movement. However, this may not work especially for more serious conditions.

Surgery

Surgery may be the last resort to treat muscle atrophy.

Recovery

There are several factors which influence the rate of recovery in people with muscle atrophy. Often, those who are only suffering from disuse atrophy would eventually recover in no time, provided that rigid exercise is done. However, for those with more serious conditions like Guillain Barre and ALS, a more intensive treatment is required. Overall, the chance of recovery for people with muscle atrophy largely depends on the type of muscle atrophy one has.