15 Days of Disuse Causes Major Muscle Weakness

In a paper released in The Journal of Physiology (https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/JP283425), the author concluded that the "results support previous findings that unilateral short-term immobilisation of just 15 days leads to a decline in muscle strength unmatched by that in muscle size. Importantly, the current data highlight adaptations to neural input to muscle, evidenced by suppressed MU FR at contraction intensities relative to both the reduced maximal force following immobilisation and relative to baseline maximal force."

What this means is that while it was obvious that your muscles get weak after you stop using them for period of time, this study showed that not only do your muscle atrophy or shrink, they also loose a considerable amount of nerve input quickly. At Complete Physical Therapy, we can reverse this decrease in neural input through neuromuscular re-education and improve your strength quickly as the nerves reconnect to the muscles.