Making Sense of Muscle Wasting

We will explore the distinct types of muscle wasting disorders commonly seen by physiatrists., including underlying biology and diagnostic classification. Then we will discuss how to develop rehabilitative programs for muscle wasting disorders, with specific focus on the cancer population. Finally, we will have a panel discussion, including representation from physiatry, dietary medicine, and exercise physiology. The panel will provide multi-disciplinary perspectives on better targeting treatments for patients with muscle wasting disorders.
Muscle wasting disorders affect a wide range of patients who require rehabilitation services, and occur secondary to chronic illness like cancer and organ failure, but also stroke and spinal cord injury. A number of terms have been used to describe muscle wasting, including cachexia, sarcopenia, and atrophy. However, from a rehabilitation perspective, there is no consensus on the treatment-based relevance of these distinct terms. Frequently, concepts are confused for each other, which impacts the potential specificity of rehabilitative interventions. Thus, further education on muscle wasting disorders is needed from a physiatry perspective. In 2022, there was a presentation titled “Sarcopenia in cancer: the need for collaboration between medical nutrition and rehabilitation” led by Hanna (Hunter) Oh et al. There was immediate interest to continue this timely conversation around the critical role of physiatry in sarcopenia, frailty, and cachexia research. Our session proposal this year brings together experts actively tackling the clinical challenges of diagnosing and treating muscle wasting. In this proposal, we will explore avenues for physiatry leaders to develop a consensus statement and a pragmatic treatment algorithm.