Everything you need to know about sarcopenia

Time and tide wait for none. Other than getting grey hair as we grow older, many of us also suffer from a syndrome called Sarcopenia, which happens naturally. If you have grandparents and other elderly people close to you, they can suffer from this. Most of the time people who are affected by this can have problems doing basic movements and everyday chores.

This is why as a person starts to age, they need to do full body checkups. They should check how capable their muscles and bones are. If diagnosed with Sarcopenia, it can be treated on time with simple lifestyle changes. This is why staying fit is a must. Let us understand more about this condition now.

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What is Sarcopenia?

You will lose muscles when you have this disease (Image by Cristian Baron/Unsplash)

It is an age-related syndrome that affects people. They start losing muscle mass and function. Muscle definition also decreases. Once we start losing muscle, we start becoming weaker physically. Even if you’re an everyday athlete you can still get this as it’s natural and comes with age at some point and increases once you start growing old. People who are 80+ in age or slightly less or more lose muscle even faster.

This causes more fractures, and bone and muscle damage. Aged people tend to fall more because of the loss of strength caused by this syndrome.

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What are the causes?

Stress can be a cause of this condition (Image by Elisa Ventur/Unsplash)

The main cause is aging. We all grow old with time as old age is inevitable and so is muscle loss and loss of strength. With age, our hormonal levels fall drastically. Our growth hormones, testosterone, and other hormones also decrease over the years. This causes Sarcopenia as our muscles start thinning. This thinning condition is called muscle atrophy.

There are other causes too like obesity and not being active, insulin resistance and a decrease in neuromuscular capability, stress, and many more. Young people also get sarcopenia because of medical conditions, insufficient calorie consumption, and extreme weight loss. Patients with cancer, heart disease, and HIV can also suffer from this.

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Symptoms

Difficulty in moving (Image by Alex Boyd/Unsplash)

Let us look at the symptoms when affected:

• Falling often
• Finding it hard to climb
• Difficulty to get out of bed
• Slow speed while walking or running
• Abnormal balance
• Decreased endurance
• Muscle loss
• Weight loss

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How to prevent sarcopenia?

Consume your daily dose of protein (Image by HowToGym/Unsplash)

To prevent Sarcopenia, you need to consume your daily dose of protein. Increase your protein consumption depending on your BMI. You will need to exercise daily. Add resistance exercises to your regime. This will improve your neuromuscular system and send the proper signals to your brain. Hire a trainer and consult a proper dietician.

You can also depend on several supplements to boost your testosterone and growth hormone levels. If you’re suffering from obesity or any other disease because of which you are losing muscle mass and strength, then treat the underlying condition first. Understand your body and move ahead accordingly.

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If you do not want to be the next person who cannot get up on his own or needs help moving around, then take this condition seriously. Once you are diagnosed with Sarcopenia, stop the muscle loss with dietary changes, lifestyle changes, and medications. Start early to stop it happening in the later stages of your life. Have a happy retired life with no problems whatsoever.