New study on the neuromuscular dystrophy rehabilitation program

Neuromuscular dystrophy is a progressive disease, interesting skeletal muscles by progressive weakness and loss of voluntary motor function.

Material and Methods: A prospective study was developed on 16 patients with progressive neuromuscular dystrophy, over a three months period. The initial and final assessment included muscle manual testing, range of motion and, for the functional outcomes, the Vigos Scale, Barthel Scale, Activity of Daily Living (ADL) Score, and Muscular Dystrophy Scale were used. The physiotherapy program was developed on four stages and a guiding protocol was used for the individualization of the physical therapy program. The statistical analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel, using a Paired samples T-test.

Results: Statistical significant results were obtained within all assessment tools. Muscle strength and ADL capacity improved, with the highest increases in patients with low levels of disability.

Conclusion: The main results suggest that individualized physiotherapy can slow the progressivity of the disorder and improve the quality of life, especially when started at an earlier stage of the disease.