Sarcopenia Part 4 – What can you do to treat sarcopenia?
Sarcopenia Part 4; What can you do to treat sarcopenia?
We know what it is, we know why we can develop it, we know how it is diagnosed. Let's discuss what we can do about it.
There are two burning questions about sarcopenia. Firstly, how do l not get it or even slow down its progression since prevention is always better than cure. Secondly, if l have sarcopenia can l reverse it? Good questions!
Good news! The answer is we can always reverse and rebuild muscle tissue.
Are there any magic bullets? What pill can l take? If only life was that easy. There is plenty of research going into medications that may influence sarcopenia and in particular the use of hormone supplementation. At the time of writing there is no government body approval of medications to treat sarcopenia.
So what is recommended for the treatment of sarcopenia? While the loss of muscle mass to sarcopenia is not completely avoidable we can most definitely delay its onset and slow its progression. We do this by staying strong.
How do we stay strong? Muscles respond to stimulus and substrate. The body builds muscle because it has received signals that say it has been exposed to loads (exercise) and provided the building blocks are present (protein) then muscle growth will follow¹²ٰ.
Exercise and Diet
So to become and stay strong we need to do the following.
1. Resistance training.
This means you must challenge the muscles since they will respond to load at any age. It is clear that a 60 year old will not expect the muscle response of a 25 year old person but you most definitely will improve. All muscular challenges are good including walking, yoga, pilates and gym. Repeat at least 3 times per week and muscle changes will occur. Recognize that the harder the challenge the more likely you will get benefit but most important is consistency and repe 
tition of effort. To facilitate this we must do an activity we like and has few barriers to entry. If the gym is better than walking but we don’t like it and lack consistency of attendance then it is of low value. However if you love walking you will do it consistently and so it will be of more value to your results.
All muscular challenges are good including walking, yoga, pilates and gym. Repeat at least 3 times per week and muscle changes will occur. Recognize that the harder the challenge the more likely you will get benefit but most important is consistency and repitition of effort. To facilitate this we must do an activity we like and has few barriers to entry. If the gym is better than walking but we don’t like it and lack consistency of attendance then it is of low value. However if you love walking you will do it consistently and so it will be of more value to your results.
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Diet and protein intake.
This has been an area of intense debate but the evidence is leaning towards an increasing amount of protein as we age. The thinking is that as we age we are more in a state of breakdown (catabolism) than buildup (anabolism) and we are also less efficient at using protein³⁴ٰ⁵ٰ. Provided you have normal kidney function it may be of value to raise your daily intake of protein.
Some protein sources
Current recommendations are that we have 25 to 30 grams of protein at each meal and that you should have a daily consumption of at least 1 to 1.5g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. So if you weigh 80kg then you should consume at least 80 to 120 grams of protein per day.
It takes time to evaluate your protein consumption and requires some kitchen scales, a nutrition panel and some effort but it will give you some ballpark information about your protein intake over a week. Use this as a guide as to whether or not you are getting enough protein per day.
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Supplementation to promote muscle growth.
There are a lot of protein supplementation powders in the marketplace. If you find it difficult to consume adequate protein in your diet then powder supplementation to a yoghurt or smoothie can be a great way to bump up your intake.
Omega 3 fatty acids as found in oily fish has been found to improve muscle mass and strength when combined with resistance training⁶⁷ٰ⁸ٰ.
A vitamin D deficiency is known to interfere with muscle mass and strength in older adults⁹ so if you think you may be low then consider supplementation.
Remember that you need both exercise and diet to be at levels to support muscle and strength growth.
If you need further information then talk to your Essendon chiropractor. They can assist you with your program to muscle health throughout your years.
