Home exercise helps people with muscular dystrophy

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A home-based exercise program seems to improve strength and function of people with neuromuscular diseases like muscular dystrophy, according to a new study.

"People with neuromuscular diseases may lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle, causing secondary detraining," Dr. Helen Dawes, of the University of Oxford in the UK, and colleagues point out in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

The researchers evaluated the effect of a home-based exercise program, developed specifically for people with neuromuscular diseases, on walking endurance, muscle strength, fatigue and function.

Twenty adults were randomly assigned to the exercise group or a comparison "control" group for 8 weeks. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 81 years, and the most common condition was muscular dystrophy.

Patients in the exercise group were given walking and strengthening exercises on alternate days. Exercises focused on increasing leg muscle endurance and overall stability. The subjects were encouraged to walk for as long as possible, up to 20 minutes with breaks, and the activity was measured by pedometer counts.

After 8 weeks there was no change in the average distance walked in 2 minutes in either group. However, those in the exercise group experienced a significant increase in leg muscle strength compared with the controls, Dawes and colleagues found.

The team is encouraged by the results. They conclude that "improving endurance and function in adults with neuromuscular diseases is feasible and well tolerated," and the home-based program is "a novel, practical and easily implemented approach."

SOURCE: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, August 2006.