Atrophy Prevention and Re-activation of muscles

Initiation of Muscle Contraction and Strengthening

Prevention of muscle atrophy and its wasting is very necessary in parts of body, where the propioception has been affected. Propioception, simply is the feedback and control by the brain of a specific muscle.

Loss of propioception can occur due to various causes. Some of them are listed below,

• Obesity
• Bad Posture
• Pregnancy
• Sedentary Lifestyle
• Edema
• Effusion

Now, lets take one muscle into account and follow the steps in order to activate the muscle and rehabilitate its propioception and then strengthen it.

Transverse Abdominis

Palpation

In order to palpate Transverse Abdominis; 

1. Lay down in crook lying and then feel your Anterior Superior Iliac Spine. 
2. From here, you go 2cm medially and 2cm inferiorly. 
3. This is the point where you can easily palpate Transverse Abdominis.    

Types of Stimulation

Stimulation of a muscle can be of the following types;

• Tactile Stimulation (As in palpations)
• Visual Stimulation
• Verbal Stimulation

Stages of Stimulation

There are mainly 10 stages of muscle activation, in which we first strengthen the core stabilizers and then we proceed on to mobility and strength factors.

In the first stage, we are supposed to palpate the muscle and then hold our tummy in for at least 5 seconds.

The second stage focuses on improving the time of holding the contracted muscle to 15 seconds and in the third stage, 30 seconds is our goal. 30 seconds of activation of muscle by holding our tummy tight is very essential as this is the minimal time required by brain to acknowledge a muscle and improve its propioception. After 30 seconds, we should breath which would then activate our diaphragm.

With the tummy tucked in and constant breathing, we squeeze our pelvic muscles, just as if we were stopping urination. This is the fourth stage and it is characterized by the activation of Trans. Abd as well as the pelvic floor muscles.

Performing Anterior and Posterior pelvic tilts consists of the fifth stage (with the tummy tucked in and constant breathing).

In the sixth stage we assume a bridging position, wherein our pelvis is raised. This stage and on are then focused on strengthening of the muscle. (Tummy is still tucked in with breathing)

Straight one leg raise with bridging position is the seventh stage.

The eighth stage focuses on the resistance provided by the therapist to the pelvis while bridging.

Ninth stage focuses on thera ball exercises while bridging. This is also called plyometrics and is very difficult as the ball may also move sideways, where the sideflexors' (Quadratus Lumborum) action is also very crucial.

Tenth stage focuses on lifestyle enhancement, where we are supposed to tuck our tummy at almost all our time.

Note that the core stabilizers are Transverse Abdominis (anteriorly), Multifidi (posteriorly), Diaphragm (superiorly) and Pelvic floor muscles (inferiorly). 

 

By following the above ten stages, we can easily prevent Trans Abd from atrophy and muscle wasting. Besides, it can also be activated and then strengthened.

By,

Muhammad Qamar Shahid 

Batch 12

IPMR, KMU.