Beccaover 7 years ago

Muscular Atrophy

Muscular atrophy is defined by a decrease in muscle mass. What most commonly causes a muscle to waste away is inactivity, which can be due to paralysis, a sedentary lifestyle, or trauma to a limb (e.g. a patient being treated for a fractured humerus will likely undergo some amount of muscular atrophy in the affected arm, as the cast will restrict movement for a lengthy amount of time). Other causes of muscular atrophy are: genetic (such as spinal muscular atrophy, caused by a mutation in the SMN1 gene), excessive exercise, and malnutrition.