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Muscle Atrophy in Legs - Can it Cause Difficulty Walking and Standing?
Following an intense leg workout back in January, I experienced significant weakness down both legs entirely that never got back to normal and it wasn’t just your typical DOMS. Long story short, I stopped using my legs much due to how terrible they felt (extremely heavy yet weak, stiff, and sore). I still have the leg weakness and lack of range of motion, though there are minor improvements over the past 6 months with PT. Since January, I average less than a total of 1,000 steps a day, and have muscle atrophy in both legs (more in my right since that one is weaker).
Can muscle atrophy of the legs really cause extreme weakness in the legs?? Even standing in place for a couple minutes makes my legs feel exhausted. I can’t walk more than 100 steps at a time without my legs getting super fatigued and worn out, like I just ran a marathon.
I can’t tell if I have something genuinely wrong with me like an autoimmune disease, neurological problem, etc but I’ve seen countless specialists and gone through so many tests like MRIs, bloodwork, nerve conductions that all have come back totally normal/clean. I can’t imagine not using my legs as much as I used to/I should be would be the cause of my lack of endurance with them, but maybe it’s as simple as I need to slowly use them more and build that strength back. Any thoughts or personal experiences with leg muscle atrophy/disuse atrophy?
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Sue,
Thank you for responding. Actually my question was, which is the most accurate to measure atrophy of the leg, goniometer or tape measure. V.A. does not use a tape measure, they assess atrophy via measurements and function of flexion/extension , with a goniometer.
Thank you again
Atrophy is an assessment of loss of mass, loss of function and loss of strength. Full analysis would require all three tests.
In the past, I have had extensive PT for my legs weeks or months. The tape measure is of limited use over time, because it cannot account for weight gain/loss or fluid retention - it does not measure muscle mass or strength.
Next time they measure with the goniometer, ask what the "metric" they are reporting. If you are concerned about others, maybe ask for a full assessment by a PT.