Have you Atrophied during Isolation?

During the last few months, Australians have done well with isolation and social distancing. In the beginning the restrictions hit a lot of our favourite places to perform exercise. Gyms, park equipment, team sports and local pools were some of the more popular types of physical activity hit.

We have all had to adjust over the last few months and I am sure many of us has decreased our level of activity. You might even notice a decrease in strength, less muscle then before, minor joint aches or that getting up the hill or stairs on your normal commute is a bit harder now.

In today’s blog I want to talk about the effects of Acute Muscular Atrophy due to a prolonged period of inactivity.

Muscular atrophy can occur due to many reasons including sustaining an injury, avoidance of activity, poor nutrition, ageing, spinal cord/brain injuries or other neuromuscular conditions.

The symptoms associated with Muscular atrophy include weakness in one or many limbs, decrease in muscle size, low energy or tiredness, poor coordination and joint or muscular pain.

Looking at the many symptoms and causes of muscular atrophy we can find a common denominator. Taking away the chronic causes such as neurological conditions, we observe that a lack of physical activity is the main reason for muscular atrophy occurring.

Continuing with low activity and low muscular loading, the risk of developing soft tissue injuries increases, chances of developing osteoporosis in the middle age increases, increase risk for falls and fractures in the elderly and an overall decrease in quality of life.

As the restrictions lessen throughout Australia, gyms are now returning on the 13th of June. This is a great opportunity to head back and begin resistance training to counteract all the effects of acute muscular Atrophy.

We understand the gym may not be for you, however, if you have been quite sedentary during this time, Longevity highly recommends returning to some form of regular exercise to halt the effect of atrophy and begin to increase your quality of life.

If you have any questions with returning to activity, new or old injuries or how to prevent atrophy Call 1300 964 002 to enquire or get started today.

By Dylan Furey