What does atrophy mean in medical terms?
Muscle atrophy is the wasting (thinning) or loss of muscle tissue.
What causes nerve atrophy?
Neurogenic atrophy is caused by an injury or disease affecting nerves that connect to your muscles. When these nerves are damaged, they can’t trigger the muscle contractions that are needed to stimulate muscle activity.
What are the symptoms of atrophy?
In addition to reduced muscle mass, symptoms of muscle atrophy include:
- having one arm or leg that is noticeably smaller than the others.
- experiencing weakness in one limb or generally.
- having difficulty balancing.
- remaining inactive for an extended period.
Can sciatica cause muscle atrophy?
Patients who suffer from sciatica are at risk for developing muscle atrophy. A recent British study found that patients with sciatica had decreased muscle mass, also known as muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy occurs in people that have a restricted range of motion due to an injury or medical condition.
What is atrophy in the legs?
Muscle atrophy is the wasting (thinning) or loss of muscle tissue. People may lose 20 to 40 percent of their muscle and, along with it, their strength as they age.
How do you treat muscle atrophy?
An exercise program may help treat muscle atrophy. Exercises may include ones done in a swimming pool to reduce the muscle workload, and other types of rehabilitation. Your health care provider can tell you more about this. People who cannot actively move one or more joints can do exercises using braces or splints.
What are the 5 causes of atrophy?
Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to the target organ, excessive amount of apoptosis of cells, and disuse or lack of exercise or disease intrinsic to the tissue itself.