Preventing sarcopenia: preserving muscle strength

Muscle strength and power can decline with ageing, inactivity, illness, or long periods in bed. Sarcopenia is about more than appearance: reduced muscle can affect balance, climbing stairs, carrying items, and getting up from a chair. Muscle weakness or difficulty walking may have other causes, so an assessment should consider medicines, nerve problems, nutrition, and general health.

A plan works best when it matches your starting ability. A physiotherapist can check movement, balance, and safe loading, then adjust exercises as your capacity changes.

Use resistance exercises for the legs, hips, back, arms, and trunk, progressing gradually with professional guidance when needed. Add walking or another suitable activity, and interrupt long periods of sitting. Include protein-containing foods across meals and discuss appetite, weight loss, swallowing problems, or dietary restrictions with a clinician or dietitian. Hydration and recovery also affect how consistently you can train.

If cramps, pain, or fatigue interrupts exercise, modify the activity rather than pushing through it. A strength training rehabilitation plan or exercise therapy may make the routine safer and easier to follow.

Arrange an assessment for ongoing weakness, repeated falls, unplanned weight loss, difficulty walking, or a new inability to rise from a chair or manage stairs. Seek urgent care after a fall causing severe pain, deformity, head injury, or inability to bear weight. A falls prevention programme can help when balance or the home environment adds risk.

How should my strength and balance be assessed? Which exercises are suitable for me? Do I need nutrition advice or a medication review? What changes should prompt reassessment, and would supervised rehabilitation help?