Regaining Strength and Restoring Lost Muscle

Muscle atrophy, the wasting or loss of muscle tissue, can occur astonishingly quickly, posing serious challenges for individuals recovering from prolonged illness or extended periods of inactivity.

“Believe it or not, you can start losing significant muscle mass in just five days of inactivity,” fitness and nutrition expert JJ Virgin told The Epoch Times. She noted that athletes can see the effects of reduced activity within about three weeks if they don’t maintain their workout routines.

Everson A. Nunes, a postdoctoral fellow at McMaster University, noted the variability in muscle loss during inactivity. In an email to The Epoch Times, he said that healthy young individuals can lose about 0.8 percent of muscle per day during a week of leg immobilization.

Nunes said that the primary cause of atrophy is the lack of mechanical stimulus.

“Muscles, tendons, and bones need mechanical stress to maintain size, function, and proper turnover rates,” he wrote. The key to healthy muscles, tendons, and bones is continuous breakdown and rebuilding.

Premium Picks

Muscle loss can happen during extended periods of bed rest because of illness or injury, leading to disuse-induced atrophy.

“If you’re sidelined due to an injury or stuck in bed, your muscles aren’t getting the workout they need to stay strong,” Virgin said. Without movement, muscles begin to degrade, resulting in a noticeable loss of strength and function.

Aging and Atrophy

Aging is a significant contributor to muscle atrophy. Our bodies naturally lose muscle mass and strength as we age, a process known as sarcopenia. This decline begins as early as age 30, with muscle mass decreasing by 3 percent to 8 percent per decade, and the rate of loss doubling at about age 60, making it even more challenging to maintain muscle health, according to Virgin.

Even more troubling is the loss of strength and power, occurring twice and three times the rate of muscle mass loss, respectively, according to Virgin. These changes can significantly impact daily activities and overall quality of life.

In cases of severe injury, trauma, or systemic diseases, inflammation plays a critical role in helping the body heal. High levels of inflammatory mediators are released in response to these conditions, but this can also lead to increased muscle breakdown. This inflammatory response, while essential for healing and defense, can complicate muscle recovery by exacerbating muscle atrophy.

“With major injury or trauma or systemic diseases, inflammation scales up and causes massive behavior and metabolic changes contributing to muscle loss,” Nunes wrote.

“It has been difficult to find a sweet spot that is able to prevent unwanted effects but still having an effective healing/defense response,” Nunes wrote. This challenge is particularly evident when using anti-inflammatory drugs, which can inhibit both harmful and beneficial inflammatory processes.

For those with chronic inflammation, strategies to combat muscle loss include a combination of drugs and lifestyle changes. These may involve anti-inflammatory medications, anabolic agents, and therapies aimed at maintaining appetite and muscle function. It’s important that people exercise regularly and eat well, but these can be difficult habits to maintain.

Rebuilding Strength at Any Age

Many believe that muscle atrophy is irreversible, particularly as people age, based on the misconception that older adults can’t build muscle.

“This simply isn’t true,” Virgin said. “Muscle plasticity, the ability of muscles to regenerate and grow, persists throughout life. With the right training and nutrition, you can rebuild muscle at any age.”

Recovery for older adults often requires more time and a more focused approach than it does for younger people. In young, healthy adults, muscle mass recovery following disuse atrophy is usually complete, but in older people, it is often delayed and sometimes incomplete.

“As we age, our bodies naturally experience a decrease in muscle regenerative capacity and hormonal changes that can slow down the recovery process,” Virgin said.

Older adults must pay closer attention to their diet, particularly protein, to support muscle repair and recovery. With age, our bodies experience anabolic resistance, which means that eating protein or amino acids doesn’t stimulate muscle building as much as when we were younger. Consequently, seniors may require more protein than younger people to achieve similar muscle repair and growth.

“Staying active is the most important thing we all should do on a population level to prevent anabolic resistance and help with recovery,” Nunes wrote. He noted that physically active older adults do not exhibit signs of anabolic resistance.

Rebuilding muscular strength begins with movement, but it is crucial to address the underlying causes of inactivity, whether that be a specific ailment, lack of time, or something else.

“Treating the cause is the most important step, in parallel with physiotherapy or supervised exercises. These are the most effective strategies targeting the inactivity aspect,” Nunes wrote.

Practical Exercises for Rebuilding Muscle After Inactivity

After a prolonged period of inactivity or illness, rebuilding muscle should be approached gradually and safely.

“Ideally, you want to get up and moving as quickly as possible,” Virgin said.

Virgin advises starting with simple isometric exercises involving holding a contraction without movement, such as planks. These exercises are beneficial for those with limited mobility, as they help rebuild strength with minimal injury risk and require no equipment. This approach allows muscles to engage even if walking is not possible.

As recovery progresses, incorporating resistance training becomes essential. Virgin recommends exercises that mimic daily activities, such as squats, bent-over rows, and dips. Starting with body weight or light resistance bands helps focus on proper technique before gradually increasing the resistance. Using a full range of motion and engaging the core are crucial for effective muscle rebuilding.

For individuals unable to handle significant resistance due to injury, blood flow restriction training (BFRT) offers an effective alternative. This involves exercising while wearing bands or other devices that restrict blood flow. For example, while lifting a weight with the arm, a person may have a band tied around the arm similar to the tourniquet applied when giving a blood sample.

Maintaining consistent activity is key to recovery. Virgin suggests tracking daily steps and gradually increasing them. Adding a weighted vest, known as a rucking vest, can enhance strength and endurance.

Once a basic fitness level is established, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be introduced. HIIT involves short bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods or lower-intensity exercise. This method aids muscle building and growth hormone release, while improving cardiovascular health and boosting metabolism.

“Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth,” Virgin said. Ensuring an optimal protein intake is critical, with a minimum of 100 grams per day, and ideally 1 gram or more per pound of ideal body weight.

However, Nunes noted that merely increasing protein intake does not prevent muscle loss. “Muscles need to be put to work in order to decrease the level of



Source link