by Lorelei Cohen

Created on: July 25, 2008

Where your muscles and muscle loss are concerned there is one simple statement that applies, "Use it or lose it!" You need to keep active or your muscles will begin to deteriorate. This wasting away of muscle tissue is referred to as muscle atrophy and it generally occurs during lengthy periods of reduced physical activity or illness.

Most illnesses come with a reduction in the amount of energy that we exert. This is apparent to anyone who has ever suffered from a really bad case of the flu, you wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed, and pull the blankets up over your head till you were well again. The body is busy using all of its reserves to try to heal itself which doesn't leave much energy left over for trying to maintain muscle strength.

Although some diseases are the direct cause for muscle loss as is the case of Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) and Poliomyelitis (Polio), muscle atrophy from other illnesses can be reduced, or even prevented from occurring if they keep their muscles active. This is especially important for people who suffer from chronic illness. Their disease is not going to go away; they are going to spend a lifetime with their symptoms of pain and fatigue, so they have to find a means of keeping muscle loss from occurring without increasing the severity of their disease.

For most individuals it is difficult to focus themselves to include a regular fitness program into their daily living, but for people who suffer from illness, it is especially difficult. Their body is busy sending them mixed messages, it is telling them to just rest till they get well, that their body needs time to recuperate, and exercise could be harmful. Those messages are accurate and over-exercising while the body is under physical or emotional stress can and will do damage to the body. Vigorous exercise should never be participated in during periods of illness! However, exercise is necessary as a person cannot go long periods of time without developing some degree of muscle atrophy. If an illness is chronic or even one that is lasting for more than a few days than it is vital to participate in an exercise program.

Keeping the body toned when it is a weakened state can be a fine balancing act. Muscle toning, cardiovascular exercise and range of motion exercises must be based on a person's individual needs, and adjusted on a day to day basis as the illness improves or worsens. You never want to do more damage then good!

RANGE OF MOTION EXERCISES can be learned through

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>