High Altitude Health Deborah Holmes MedX of Estes
High Altitude Health Deborah Holmes MedX of Estes

Have you ever had a cast, which immobilized one of your joints? Think about that cast and how it stops your muscle from contracting on any level. When the cast comes off, you discover just how quickly a muscle can waste away!

Muscle atrophy is defined as the wasting away or loss of muscle tissue as a result of disease or lack of use. Atrophy results from the consequent loss of muscle proteins that begin to diminish when muscles are not being used. It's the movement and fiber connections at the cellular level that make muscles grow and maintain their strength through the proteins it produces.

Muscle deterioration can begin as soon as the first six hours of complete immobilization of a muscle. The muscle quickly reduces the rate at which it makes the proteins when it becomes immobilized. What is even more incredible are how fast these decreases can occur. They are most dramatic during the first week of immobilization, averaging a loss in strength of 3 to 4 percent per day.

Here's the bad news, muscles can go through this same process of atrophying without the immobilization of a cast. It can also happen simply from the muscle not being used. If you don't use it, you lose it.

The atrophy might not be as drastic as when it is immobilized in a cast. After all, we always use our muscles at least a little. However, being sedentary and not doing much will lead to slower deterioration, which is one of the biggest culprits of the aging process.


The aging process is a prime example of how muscle deterioration occurs naturally. Older, frail, weak, poor balance, bad joints are all part of the natural deterioration of the human body. Deterioration of the muscles.

Here's something else; many of our aches and pains are due to weak muscles. If there's no injury and your muscles are simply weak or atrophied due to lack of use, they are not capable of maintaining joint and skeletal stability. When the joints and skeletal systems are not being properly maintained by the muscles attached to them they get sore, achy and hurt. Then your whole-body hurts.

The process of protecting weak areas of the body is known as "disuse syndrome."

Disuse syndrome is a cycle and it goes like this: injury occurs, pain causes guarding and disuse, disuse leads to muscle atrophy, muscle atrophy leads to joint and skeletal weakness and disruption of proper muscle function, weaker muscles increase risk of injury and leads to more pain, more pain leads to more guarding and disuse, more disuse leads to more muscle atrophy and more muscle weakness. The cycle continues.

The cycle continues until you make a concerted effort to break the cycle. Yes, the cycle can be reversed and yes, muscle atrophy can be reversed, at any age and under most health conditions. The only way to stop it is to start using those muscles again.

As mentioned many times in previous articles, strength training is an essential part of your health. I honestly believe that it is the most important part of the three exercise components. Particularly for women and aging. Which are the two populations that don't strength train on a regular basis. Women don't want to get "big" or "muscular." Even though men seem to be more receptive to strength training, most of this population also don't strength train on a regular basis.

Having strong muscles isn't about a "six pack" or "looking buff." It's about maintaining structural balance and joint stability. It's about maintaining physical function while you age. It's about protecting your body if an injury or accident where to occur. A stronger body will handle injuries better than a weak one will. It's about better health.

Take the time today to consider how muscle atrophy may be affecting your life. If you are not trying to maintain or improve your strength through a resistance-training program, then your muscles are slowly atrophying.

And, remember, weak and deconditioned muscles do not function properly, causing injuries and starting that disuse syndrome cycle. I see assisted living and not being able to care for yourself all over that!