Muscle wasting is a type of muscular dystrophy that occurs as a result of metabolic disorders and a decrease in the supply of vital nutrients to muscle tissue. This is a dangerous disease that leads to muscle loss and disability. For the treatment of patients who have muscle wasting of the upper and lower extremities, all the necessary conditions have been created:
- European level of room comfort;
- Equipment and equipment from leading manufacturers in the USA and European countries;
- Multidisciplinary approach to treating the disease;
- Attentive attitude of medical staff towards patients and their relatives.
Complex cases of malnutrition of the legs, arms, torso and other parts of the body are discussed at a meeting of the Expert Council with the participation of candidates and doctors of medical sciences, doctors of the highest category. Leading specialists in the field of neurology analyze research results, collectively establish a diagnosis and determine the cause of muscle wasting. Neurologists take an individual approach to the choice of treatment method for malnutrition and direct all efforts towards eliminating the cause of the disease. Rehabilitation clinic specialists create an individual rehabilitation therapy plan that accelerates the restoration of muscle function.
Causes and types
What causes muscle wasting? The main cause of muscle wasting is insufficient supply of nutrients. A decrease in muscle mass can occur as a result of infectious diseases, exposure to toxins from burns, frostbite, chemical poisoning, and intoxication due to long-term compartment syndrome. Hypotrophy of the leg muscles in an adult develops when peripheral nerves or tendons are damaged. Muscle wasting occurs with paralysis.
There are several types of muscle wasting. Congenital hypotrophy of the leg muscles occurs due to pregnancy pathology (impaired blood supply to the fetus, infectious diseases of the mother, poor nutrition and bad habits of a pregnant woman). The acquired form of the disease develops after birth trauma, with unbalanced nutrition of the child, metabolic disorders, and dysfunction of the endocrine organs. Muscle wasting of the lower extremities in old age occurs when a person is insufficiently active.
The most common type is hip muscle wasting in adults. It develops when the function of the hip joint is impaired and coxarthrosis develops. Lower leg hypotrophy most often occurs in young children who do not receive a balanced diet and are often injured. Athletes who have stopped exercising are at risk of developing muscle wasting. Leg hypotrophy develops in office workers, cashiers, and people who spend most of the day at the computer. Muscle wasting is characteristic of damage to the peripheral nervous system.
Muscle wasting accompanies flaccid paralysis, which occurs with the paralytic form of poliomyelitis. Muscle atrophy develops gradually with: the following pathology:
- Hereditary degenerative diseases of the muscular system;
- Metabolic disorders;
- Chronic infections;
- Long-term use of glucocorticoids;
- Violations of the trophic functions of the nervous system.
Local muscle wasting occurs with prolonged immobility associated with a violation of the integrity of tendons, nerves or muscles, or joint diseases.
Diagnostics
To determine the diagnosis, a patient is interviewed. It is necessary to determine the presence of chronic or hereditary diseases. A detailed blood test is prescribed to determine:
- ESR;
- liver tests;
- glucose.
The examination is carried out using electromyography, which allows you to identify disorders in the early stages. A nerve conduction study is performed. If necessary, a cell biopsy is performed.
If chronic or infectious diseases are present, additional examinations are needed.
Signs
There are several stages of muscle wasting:
- The amount of subcutaneous tissue throughout the body decreases. A person loses up to 20% of body weight. He has pallor, weak appetite, muscle tone decreases;
- Subcutaneous tissue on the abdomen and chest practically disappears. The skin becomes gray, the muscles become flabby, and the liver increases in size. Mental health disorders and irritability occur;
- Severe wasting (cachexia) occurs when the patient loses 30% of muscle mass. The condition requires intensive therapy.
Common symptoms of muscle wasting include the following:
- Constant muscle pain;
- Weakness;
- Inability to perform normal movements;
- Significant loss of body weight.
If areas of muscle wasting are located symmetrically, this raises suspicion of myopathy or spinal amyotrophy. With progressive muscular dystrophy, relatively isolated wasting of the quadriceps femoris or biceps brachii is observed. If malnutrition is located in the distal limbs, we are talking about polyneuropathy (with impaired sensitivity and loss of reflexes in the distal limbs) or Steinert’s myotonic dystrophy.
Unilateral acquired isolated muscle wasting is always a consequence of damage to the root, plexus or peripheral nerve. Decisive for the topical diagnosis is the characteristic distribution of the process of malnutrition and sensory disturbances or prolonged inactivity of the muscle. Hypotrophy of the quadriceps muscle occurs with arthrosis of the knee joint and with sarcoma of the hip. Focal wasting of individual muscles or muscle groups, isolated and sometimes symmetrical, can slowly progress over many years. This is a sign of focal damage to the ganglion cells of the anterior horns or ischemia in the area of the blood supply of the artery.
Hypotrophy of the calf muscles often occurs. With progressive muscular dystrophy, sometimes in significantly hypotrophied muscles areas with intact muscle fibers are identified, which look like nodules. Doctors at the Yusupov Hospital distinguish them from a muscle roll, which is formed when the short head of the biceps brachii muscle is ruptured and is noticeable on the flexor surface of the shoulder.
What is muscle atrophy? Treatment methods.
A decrease in muscle volume and degeneration of muscle fibers, causing them to become thinner, is called muscle atrophy .
This disease develops gradually and can lead to loss of muscle strength, decreased muscle tone, or complete loss of muscle mass. Without muscles, the human body is limited in activity or loses complete motor function. There are primary (simple) and secondary (neurogenic) muscle atrophy. We offer very effective and high-quality treatment of the primary form of the disease muscular atrophy , which develops as a result of damage to the peripheral motor nerves (poliomyelitis, polyneuritis, plexitis, radiculoneuritis, traumatic neuritis, osteochondrosis with severe radicular syndrome, cerebral palsy).
Hypotrophy of arm muscles
Hypotrophy of the muscles of the hand, forearm and shoulder develops as a secondary disease against the background of impaired innervation or blood circulation in a certain area of muscle tissue and as a primary pathology (with myopathy), when motor function is not impaired. The following causes of wasting of the muscles of the hand and other fragments of the upper limb are identified:
- Constant overexertion during heavy physical labor;
- Arthrosis of the wrist joint;
- Endocrine pathology (obesity, diabetes mellitus, acromegaly, thyroid diseases);
- Scar processes after injuries, systemic diseases (lupus erythematosus);
- Neoplasms of various origins;
- Congenital anomalies of the lower limb.
The main typical sign of the disease is the symmetry of the lesion (except for myasthenia gravis) and the slow development of the disease (except for myositis), wasting of the affected muscles and weakening of tendon reflexes with preserved sensitivity.
Hypotrophy of the arm muscles begins with the most distant (distal) parts of the upper limbs - the hands. Due to damage to the finger muscles, the hand takes on the appearance of a “monkey hand”. Tendon reflexes are completely lost. Sensitivity is observed, but sensation is retained in the affected limb. As the disease progresses, the muscles of the trunk and neck are involved in the pathological process.
Making a diagnosis does not cause any particular difficulties for the doctors at the Yusupov Hospital due to the availability of modern equipment that allows them to perform electromyography and biopsy of the affected muscles. The patient is prescribed biochemical and general blood tests, and a urine test. The activity of muscle enzymes (mainly creatine phosphokinase) is determined in blood serum. The amount of creatine and creatinine in the urine is calculated. According to indications, the patient undergoes a computer or magnetic resonance imaging scan of the cervicothoracic spine and brain, and the level of hormones in the blood is determined.
Symptoms of muscle atrophy
Treatment of atrophy of the muscles of the legs and arms should be preceded by a diagnosis of the pathology. Doctors emphasize that it is necessary to pay attention to the following signs:
- rapid onset of fatigue;
- muscle weakness due to physical activity;
- decrease in muscle volume;
- difficulties when performing physical work.
Symptoms of muscle atrophy never appear acutely; they are characterized by a gradual increase. The pathology develops gradually, and years may pass before it is diagnosed. But a decrease in the volume of the affected muscle can be observed at an early stage of the development of the pathology.
Over time, atrophy of the thigh muscles leads to the inability to walk long and quickly, climb stairs, and even getting out of bed may be difficult.
With atrophy of the heart muscle, the patient complains of an uncontrolled increase or decrease in heart rate, sudden flushes of heat to the face, periodic numbness of the fingers of the upper extremities, shortness of breath during exercise, and then at rest. Atrophic changes in the heart muscle are considered the most dangerous, since in the absence of adequate treatment they can lead to death.
Treatment
Neurologists at the Yusupov Hospital prescribe complex treatment to patients suffering from muscle dystrophy, aimed at eliminating the cause of the disease, influencing the mechanisms of development of the pathological process, and reducing the manifestations of the disease. To improve blood flow in peripheral vessels, angioprotectors (trental, pentoxifylline, chimes), low molecular weight dextran, and prostaglandin E preparations (vasaprostan) are used. After dilating blood vessels with no-shpa and papaverine, the supply of muscle fibers with oxygen and nutrients improves.
B vitamins (thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrotartrate, cyanocobalamin) normalize metabolic processes and the conduction of nerve impulses. Biological stimulants stimulate the regeneration of muscle fibers and restore muscle volume: aloe, actovegin, plasmol. To restore muscle conduction, prozerin, galantamine, and armin are used.
Prevention and treatment of muscle atrophy in Samara
primary goal
– restore and increase muscle strength. The specialists of the First Neurology clinic are the only ones in the Samara region who have the opportunity to offer you the unique Salus Talent peripheral magnetic stimulation technique, which affects neuromuscular connections. Under the influence of magnetic stimulation, muscle contraction occurs.
We propose to make the rehabilitation process active from the moment of disease prevention and at the stage of advanced complaints.
Call.
How is the disease treated?
Based on the data obtained during diagnostic measures, the doctor will prescribe treatment for leg muscle atrophy, which includes:
- drug therapy;
- physiotherapy;
- exercise therapy;
- development of a special diet.
The health complex is selected individually and depends on the cause of the disease, its form, the patient’s condition (age, presence of chronic diseases, etc.).
Drug therapy
Medications are prescribed to the patient primarily to relieve symptoms. For this purpose use:
- antispasmodics “No-shpa”, “Papaverine” - eliminate pain, reduce muscle tone, dilate blood vessels and normalize blood circulation in the lower extremities;
- "Galantamine" - improves the conduction of nerve impulses in the legs;
- B vitamins – correct the functioning of the peripheral nervous system, activate metabolic processes in the body’s tissues, allowing the volume of the affected muscle system to be restored.
Only the attending physician has the right to write prescriptions for drug therapy, because he is fully familiar with the person’s condition, knows the characteristics of the existing illness and is aware of the patient’s allergy to one or another component of the drug.
Physiotherapy
The regeneration of affected tissues can be improved by exposure to low voltage current - electrical stimulation. During this procedure, a person does not experience pain. It is worth noting that electrical stimulation is pointless as the only treatment method.
Massage as a type of physiotherapy is the most useful method for improving blood flow to affected areas, restoring cellular nutrition, accelerating tissue regeneration, “breaking” stagnation and relieving excess tension. This procedure should be carried out daily, and if possible, a couple of times a day for a long time (at least 2-3 weeks).
Massage movements should be superficial, so as not to aggravate the situation; the procedure should be started from the periphery (from the foot) and do not forget to work the buttocks. The quadriceps femoris muscle may be subject to a little more manipulation.
Exercise therapy
Therapeutic exercise is prescribed by the attending physician and should be carried out only under the supervision of an experienced specialist: he will help you recover competently, gradually increasing the load and working out the damaged areas.
Prevention
Ways to prevent leg muscle atrophy:
- proper nutrition, rich in microelements necessary for the body to function properly;
- timely visits to doctors (medical examinations and medical examinations) and elimination of identified diseases;
- moderate physical activity;
- compliance with rehabilitation tactics after surgical intervention or injury;
- wearing comfortable shoes;
- compliance with healthy lifestyle rules.
Muscle atrophy is a pathology, which can be completely eliminated and a return to normal life possible only at the initial stage (when the disease manifests itself in a mild form). Therefore, if you notice any unpleasant sensations or visual changes, you should immediately contact a medical facility.