Injury & Muscle Atrophy
The human body is constantly striving to be an efficient steward of energy. Aside from our brain, which uses about 20% of the body’s energy per day, the remaining 80% is carefully allocated throughout our muscles and organs.
The saying, “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it” is accurate. If you aren’t regularly and intentionally training a muscle, the body will start to divert its resources (blood and nutrients) to parts of the body that are used daily, such as muscles of locomotion, posture, texting, mastication and digestion. Muscles that we use less often will shrink due to atrophy and stay just big enough to complete the tasks that we consistently ask our bodies to perform.
Muscle loss begins after a few days of inactivity and this process can accelerate over time until a new homeostasis is reached. This is why consistency is key when developing an exercise routine. A statistic I learned in physical therapy graduate school was that bedrest can cause a 12% loss of general muscle strength per week.
About three years ago, I fractured my left ankle at the distal fibula, just above the lateral malleolus. The fracture did not require surgery, but I had to use crutches for two weeks and a walking boot for 4 weeks afterwards (healing slows as we age!). During this time of rest and inactivity for my left leg, I lost a good portion of my calf muscle as the walking boot prevented my calf from having to work during the push off phase of gait. This local loss of strength was an expected outcome after immobilization.
What I didn’t expect was the extent of weakness and atrophy that lingered at six weeks post injury at my gluteus medius (outside hip) muscle, just from using crutches for two weeks! The gluteus medius is a muscle we use when we stand on one leg to maintain an upright posture and balance during ambulation. Even though I had been loading it consistently for four weeks of walking, the muscle remained significantly weaker than the right side and I had to intentionally train it for several weeks to bring it back to normal.
This is an example of how an injury can affect multiple areas of our bodies. We start compensating for one body part and then our body begins diverting resources away from another area and the muscles continue to weaken. Thus, it can be a hindrance to remain focused solely on the area of injury.
Here at Refuge, we focus both globally and locally to make sure we are addressing all areas that are impacted from injuries. If you are experiencing muscle weakness or limitations after an injury, please schedule an appointment and we can help you get back to 100%. Thank you for being a part of our Refuge community!
