A nurse is completing a physical assessment on a client who has osteoarthritis. Which of the following physical manifestations may the nurse expect to find
The nurse may expect to find the client suffering from atrophy in the muscles.
What is atrophy?
Atrophy is the weakening or decrease in size of a cell, an organ or a tissue due to lack of use.
Initially the atrophied part is in normal condition but due to no use for a long time, it starts degenerating.
Example: Atrophy in the muscles of an arm after it has been dislocated or broken and thus is not used for a long time.
According to studies, after 3 to 5 weeks of being bedridden, there is a loss of almost half of the muscle strength.
As the patient is suffering from osteoarthritis (degeneration of joints) and has trouble in moving painful joints, he is expected to have atrophied muscles in that area.