Causes of Stretch Marks

One of the services offered by Jewell Family & Elder Medicine, PA is stretch mark reduction. Stretch marks are common in people of all types of age, race, and skin type.

Stretch marks are more prevalent in women than men though they can affect anyone. They can also be found on various parts of the body mostly the stomach, legs, hands, and hips.

Collagen is a protein in your skin that is responsible for your skin structure. If you have insufficient amounts of collagen, your skin will develop stretch marks when stretched.

The following are the most common causes of stretch marks:

Pregnancy

As stated above, women tend to have more stretch marks than men. One of the reasons for that is that women get pregnant and men do not.

The female body is stretched in a multitude of ways when pregnant that cannot happen in any other way. The stretching of the skin that happens when pregnant often leaves stretch marks.

The extent of the stretch marks will depend on the pregnancy. The stretch marks are bound to be more extensive and pronounced for larger children and multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets, and so on).

Weight Gain

Another prevalent source of stretch marks is abrupt weight gain. When you gain weight gradually, you will most likely develop stretch marks but they will not be as prominent as those you get when you gain it rapidly.

Rapid weight gain can happen for many reasons with the most common being an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle. When you do so, you will certainly have stretch marks as the skin also loses its vitality.

Abrupt weight gain can also happen as a result of bodybuilding. When you are fast increasing the intensity and duration of your strength training in conjunction with your diet, the increase in size will probably leave stretch marks.

Disease

There are certain diseases that have the side effect of leaving your body covered in stretch marks. Two examples of such diseases include Marfan syndrome and Cushing’s syndrome.

Marfan Syndrome, in particular, is a disease that causes reduced elasticity in the skin due to the depletion of elastin.

Cushing’s syndrome leads to the production of a hormone that adversely affects the body by reducing the fragility of the skin and causing abrupt weight gain which when combined are a surefire way of getting stretch marks. 

Puberty

Stretch marks during puberty are a common occurrence. If you have stretch marks and you are an adolescent, you have no reason to worry, it is totally normal.

The reason many kids get stretch marks during puberty is the growth spurts they experience during that period. The larger the growth spurt, the more extensive the stretch marks are likely to be. 

Use of Corticosteroid

If you regularly use creams and lotions or even pills that contain corticosteroid, then you will probably get stretch marks. The reason is that they deplete the amount of collagen in the skin.

With less collagen, your skin will be weaker and less elastic which increases the chance of getting stretch marks.