Decreased muscle mass

What is decreased muscle mass?

Decreased muscle mass, known as muscle atrophy, occurs when muscle cells shrink and the muscles become weaker. This leads to a loss of muscle strength and functionality over time.

Some key points about decreased muscle mass:

• It is caused by aging, lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, and certain diseases or medications. As we get older, muscle mass naturally declines due to changes in hormone levels and protein synthesis.


• Symptoms include feeling weak, getting tired easily, poor balance, and reduced ability to do daily activities. Blood tests may show low testosterone or growth hormone levels.


• Treatments focus on exercise, eating more protein, taking supplements like creatine or amino acids, and balancing hormones. This helps rebuild muscle tissue.


• Having low muscle mass raises risks of fractures from falls, insulin resistance, weight gain, and death. It seriously impacts quality of life.

Building muscle gets harder with age. But the Hormone Health Clinic specializes in hormone optimization therapy to help patients regain vigor. Their certified doctors can evaluate your hormone levels and customize treatment plans involving bioidentical hormones, nutrition plans and supplements to suit your muscle goals.

Now back to more on decreased muscle mass - here are common causes:

Aging
- As humans age, testosterone, HGH and other anabolic hormones decline, slowing muscle growth. The body also becomes less responsive to protein and exercise.

Inactivity
- If muscles aren't used regularly, protein breakdown occurs faster than tissue can be rebuilt. Just 2 weeks of inactivity can result in noticeable muscle wasting.

Poor Nutrition
- Consuming inadequate protein and calories leads to breakdown of muscle for energy needs. This accelerates loss of mass.

I hope this overview on decreased muscle mass helps provide some background on what causes it and how it can be treated. Let me know if you have any other questions! Reach out to Hormone Health Clinic to learn about optimizing hormonal balance.