PTEACS Physical Therapy Test 2 Practice

Critical illness myopathy is a problem rooted in the muscles themselves, occurring in severely ill patients often after long ICU stays. It is best described as muscle fiber atrophy plus dysfunction—the muscle fibers shrink and their ability to generate force is impaired, due to factors like disuse, inflammation, and changes in contractile proteins. This is a muscle disease (a myopathy) rather than a nerve issue or a brain/spinal cord problem. In contrast, peripheral nerve demyelination would indicate a neuropathy affecting nerves; central nervous system damage would involve the brain or spinal cord; and joint cartilage degeneration involves the joints rather than the muscle fibers. Clinically, this manifests as diffuse, typically proximal weakness with relatively preserved sensation, reflecting the primary muscle involvement.