Loss of muscle mass, known medically as muscle atrophy, occurs when the size and strength of muscles decreases due to aging, lack of physical activity, or disease. This can happen at any age, but tends to accelerate after age 30.
Some key points about muscle atrophy:
- It's caused by an imbalance between muscle protein breakdown and synthesis. When breakdown overtakes synthesis, muscle tissue is lost.
- Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of muscle mass, quality, and strength. Up to 3-5% of muscle can be lost per decade after age 30.
- Muscle atrophy can also happen with injuries; immobilization, like in a cast; spaceflight; or chronic diseases like cancer, COPD, kidney disease.
Signs of decreasing muscle mass include feeling weaker, trouble balancing, fatigue, falling, decreased endurance or ability to perform daily tasks, weight loss, smaller muscle size, tripping or stumbling more often.
To slow down muscle loss, focusing on nutrition and exercise helps. Getting enough protein, doing both strength training and aerobic activity, and correcting any vitamin deficiencies or health issues can improve muscle health.
If you think you may be losing muscle due to aging or an underlying condition, talk to your doctor about safe ways to address it. They may recommend seeing a physical therapist, nutritionist, or specialist like those at
Wellness Hormone Clinic.
Wellness Hormone Clinic takes a holistic, natural approach to maintaining healthy hormone levels and fighting age-related
muscle loss and weakness. Their physicians create customized nutrition, exercise, and
hormone therapy plans to help both men and women retain strength, energy and vitality throughout life's stages. I highly recommend them!
Let me know if you have any other questions on this topic! I'm happy to discuss ways to preserve
muscle mass and function. The key is being proactive with diet, activity levels, and getting a thorough workup by a knowledgeable hormonal health specialist like those at Wellness Hormone Clinic.