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Another section I intend to expand on one day.
Meanwhile...
It should go without saying that regular, moderate exercise is good for you. So why this section?
A number of doctors seem to be labouring under the belief that exercise is bad for PALS. This probably devolved from a concern about excessively strenuous exercise and the (as far as I know) as yet unexplained predisposition of athletes and active people to developing the illness.
Whatever the cause, I was not only discouraged from physical exercise, I was urged against it.
At time of diagnosis, I was told to stop dancing, as "I might fall and break my leg."
Ha.
I did fall and break my leg. But not from dancing. From walking. Tripping over a crack in the sidewalk. Two years later. There wasn't even any music playing.
Had I obeyed the doc, I would have deprived myself of something that brought me great joy, for no discerable advatage.
So, in the interest of clarifying the whole issue of exercise and ALS, I am actively seeking reports and abstracts on this topic.
To date, I have:
- · Regular exercise is beneficial to a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
- · The importance of multifactorial rehabilitation treatment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- · Physiotherapy Improves Mobility, Subjective Well-Being in Patients With MS
Regular exercise is beneficial to a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Kirkinezos IG, Hernandez D, Bradley WG, Moraes CT.
Departments of Cell Biology and Anatomy
University of Miami School of Medicine
Miami, Florida, USA
We tested whether a regular exercise regimen was associated with a change in the life span of G93A-SOD1 transgenic mice, a model of familial ALS. Regular treadmill running for 10 weeks led to a significant increase in the life span of G93A-SOD1 mice. The effect was stronger in male mice, whereas there was only a trend between exercised and sedentary female G93A-SOD1 mice. The data suggest that regular exercise has a beneficial effect on the progression of ALS.
Ann Neurol 2003;53:804-807
Neurol 2001 Mar 16;32(5):423-426 Books
The importance of multifactorial rehabilitation treatment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Gomez Fernandez L, Calzada Sierra DJ.
Laboratorio de EMG & EMT
Centro Internacional de Restauracion Neurologica (CIREN)
La Habana, 11300, Cuba
lazaro@neubas.sld.cu
INTRODUCTION
The treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is still a major challenge. Rehabilitation treatment is scarcely considered and its usefulness in these patients continues to be controversial.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
A multidisciplinary team made up of neurologists, physiotherapists, logopaedists, defectologists, psychologists and specialist physicians treated six patients with ALS in an intensive rehabilitation programme of 41 hours per week for four weeks. We follow certain basic principles in rehabilitation including:
- 1. Treatment by a multidisclipinary team;
- 2. Treatment tailored to the individual;
- 3. Avoidance of muscle fatigue and vigorous exercise, and
- 4. Intensive treatment with carefully measured amounts of different activities (logophoniatrics, occupational therapy, psychology, physical therapy, etc.) to avoid fatigue.
The patients fulfilled the criteria of E1 Escorial for the diagnosis of definite ALS, and gave their informed consent to undergo the treatment. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS) tests were done on all patients at the beginning and end of the treatment. The Wilcoxon test for paired series, comparing scores at the start and finish, were done in each case.
RESULTS
In all patients the FVC and ALSFRS improved after the treatment. The results were statistically significant (Z: 2.2013; p= 0.027) on the Wilcoxon paired series test and no complications were seen.
CONCLUSIONS
Intensive, multifactorial rehabilitation treatment for four weeks improved the FVC and ALSFRS in all patients with ALS and no complications were seen. Until there is a curative treatment for ALS, multifactorial rehabilitation remains the best hope for these patients.
PMID: 11346822 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Physiotherapy Improves Mobility, Subjective Well-Being in Patients With MS
WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Feb 13 - Measures of mobility, gait, and balance improve significantly in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) after an 8-week course of physiotherapy, report investigators in Cardiff, Wales. Benefits are relatively short-lived, the researchers find, suggesting that therapy should be ongoing in order to sustain improvement or prevent deterioration.
Dr. C. M. Wiles, of the University of Wales College of Medicine, and associates randomized the order in which 40 patients received each of three experimental courses. For physiotherapy at home or in a hospital outpatient setting, two physiotherapy sessions were administered per week, 45 minutes each, for 8 weeks. The third course consisted of no physiotherapy. All treatment periods were separated by 8 weeks.
The home-based physiotherapy sessions focused more on specific functional activities and the hospital-based program was aimed more at specific facilitation. However, there appeared to be no significant difference in benefit between the two types of therapy, the investigators write in the February issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
Changes in the Rivermead mobility index were significant and similar for the two physiotherapy types compared with no treatment. Balance score and time, as well as measures of walking, improved with active treatment. Patients and their care providers perceived better mobility and a reduced tendency to fall after physiotherapy.
"Whether this study will promote better access to physiotherapy for patients with MS and chronic disability remains to be seen," Dr. Wiles told Reuters Health. "It would certainly be unfortunate if all available resources for MS patients were to be put into the newer disease modifying drugs at the expense of supportive therapies."
He added, "I suggest there needs to be an approach which, as well as trying to limit disease progression, also aims to optimize and preserve the functional abilities of patients who are already limited by disability."
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2001;70:174-179.
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