Progressive muscular atrophy
Progressive muscular atrophy is something that affects your muscles and makes them weaker over time.
Just like how you practice and get better at doing things like riding a bike or throwing a ball, your muscles practice and get stronger when you use them. But with progressive muscular atrophy, your muscles don't get stronger like they're supposed to.
This happens because something called motor neurons in your brain and spinal cord, which send messages to your muscles to move, start to die. When they die, your muscles don't get the messages they need to stay strong.
Because of this, everyday tasks like walking, lifting things, and even talking and swallowing can become really hard as your muscles get weaker. There isn't a cure for progressive muscular atrophy, but there are ways to manage it and make things easier, like using equipment to help you move around or getting therapy to help you build up your muscles as much as possible.
Just like how you practice and get better at doing things like riding a bike or throwing a ball, your muscles practice and get stronger when you use them. But with progressive muscular atrophy, your muscles don't get stronger like they're supposed to.
This happens because something called motor neurons in your brain and spinal cord, which send messages to your muscles to move, start to die. When they die, your muscles don't get the messages they need to stay strong.
Because of this, everyday tasks like walking, lifting things, and even talking and swallowing can become really hard as your muscles get weaker. There isn't a cure for progressive muscular atrophy, but there are ways to manage it and make things easier, like using equipment to help you move around or getting therapy to help you build up your muscles as much as possible.