Review articleExercise Therapy and Other Types of Physical Therapy for Patients With Neuromuscular Diseases: A Systematic Review
Section snippets
Search Strategy
We searched in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Cochrane Library 2005, Issue 3), Ovid Medline In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations and Ovid Medline (1966 through September 2005), CINAHL WebSPIRS 5.1 (1982 through September 2005), and EMBASE WebSPIRS 5.03 (Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine) (1995 through September 2005). We also searched in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews to find articles indirectly by screening reference lists. Further, potentially relevant
Selection of Studies
The search resulted in 5712 citations (see fig 1). Of these, 5634 articles were excluded because the type of study, the participants, the intervention, or outcome measures did not meet the predefined criteria.
The preliminary selection resulted in 62 articles and 16 reviews that were retrieved for more detailed evaluation. Citation tracking resulted in 19 additional reviews and 27 additional articles to be retrieved. The final selection resulted in a total of 60 articles, comprising 58 different
Methodology
The extensive search used in this review with MeSH terms exploded without restrictions and free-text words such as activities of daily living or physical activity, which resulted in a large database of citations. However, 90% of the citations did not fulfill our predefined inclusion criteria regarding the study design, the participants, the intervention, or the outcome measures. Surprisingly, hand searching of the reference lists of the articles and reviews revealed a substantial number of
Conclusions
Our best evidence synthesis resulted in level II evidence (likely to be effective) for strengthening exercises in combination with aerobic exercises for patients with muscle disorders. Level III evidence (indications of effectiveness) was found for aerobic exercises in patients with muscle disorders and for the combination of muscle strengthening and aerobic exercises in a heterogeneous group of patients with muscle disorders. Finally, there is level III evidence for breathing exercises for
Acknowledgment
We thank Sylvia van den Heuvel (Dutch Institute of Allied Health Care, Amersfoort, The Netherlands) for her assistance with the EMBASE search.
References (114)
Rehabilitation management of neuropathies
Report on the muscular dystrophy campaign workshop: exercise in neuromuscular diseases. Newcastle, January 2002
Neuromuscul Disord
(2002)- et al.
Strength training in patients with myotonic dystrophy and hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy: a randomized clinical trial
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
(1995) - et al.
The value of muscle exercise in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
J Neurol Sci
(2001) - et al.
Resistance training effectiveness in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: recommendations for exercise prescription
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
(2004) - et al.
Effects of 8-week, interval-based inspiratory muscle training and breathing retraining in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis
Chest
(2005) - et al.
Endurance training effect on individuals with postpoliomyelitis
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
(1996) - et al.
Inspiratory muscle training in patients with prior polio who use part-time assisted ventilation
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
(2000) - et al.
Physical training effects in myasthenia gravis
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
(1993) - et al.
Effects of aerobic training on lactate and catecholaminergic exercise responses in mitochondrial myopathies
Neuromuscular Disord
(2000)
A comparison of the effects of exercise and lifestyle modification on the resolution of overuse symptoms of the shoulder in polio survivors: a preliminary study
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Strength, endurance, and work capacity after muscle strengthening exercise in postpolio subjects
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Dynamic water exercise in individuals with late poliomyelitis
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Pursed lips breathing improves ventilation in myotonic muscular dystrophy
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Moderate resistance exercise program: its effect in slowly progressive neuromuscular disease
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
The effect of a high resistance exercise program in slowly progressive neuromuscular disease
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Aerobic walking in slowly progressive neuromuscular disease: effect of a 12-week program
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Referral of patients with neuromuscular disease to occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy: usual practice versus multidisciplinary advice
Disabil Rehabil
The role of exercise in the rehabilitation of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
Curr Opin Rheumatol
Effectiveness of exercise in progressive neuromuscular disease
J Neuro Rehabil
Response to resistive strengthening exercise training in humans with neuromuscular disease
Am J Phys Med Rehabil
Response to aerobic exercise training in humans with neuromuscular disease
Am J Phys Med Rehabil
Exercise in neuromuscular disease
J Clin Neuromuscul Dis
Exercise therapy in patients with myopathy
Curr Opin Neurol
Exercise and training in mitochondrial myopathies
Med Sci Sports Exerc
Strength training and aerobic exercise training for muscle disease
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
Strength training and albuterol in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy
Neurology
Exercise for people with peripheral neuropathy
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
Treatment for spasticity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
Challenges in systematic reviews of therapeutic devices and procedures
Ann Intern Med
Method guidelines for systematic reviews in the Cochrane Collaboration Back Review Group for Spinal Disorders
Spine
A pilot randomised controlled trial of a home-based exercise programme aimed at improving endurance and function in adults with neuromuscular disorders
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
Resistance training exercise and creatine in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
Muscle Nerve
Specificity of strength training in neuromuscular disorders
J Rehabil Sci
Improvement of physical fitness and muscle strength in polymyositis/dermatomyositis patients by a training programme
Br J Rheumatol
Effect of training on the exercise responses of neuromuscular disease patients
Med Sci Sports Exerc
Safety of a home exercise programme in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis: a pilot study
Rheumatology
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy—results of physical therapy under stationary conditions
Aktuel Neurol
Cough augmentation with mechanical insufflation/exsufflation in patients with neuromuscular weakness
Eur Resp J
The effects of inspiratory resistive training on respiratory muscle function in patients with muscular dystrophy
Muscle Nerve
Effect of respiratory muscle training in patients with neuromuscular diseases and in normals
Respiration
The use of strengthening exercises in post-polio sequelaeMethods and results
Orthopedics
The use of nonfatiguing strengthening exercises in post-polio syndrome
Birth Defects Orig Artic Ser
Physical training and fatigue, fitness, and quality of life in Guillain-Barré syndrome and CIDP
Neurology
The effects of strength training in patients with selected neuromuscular disorders
Med Sci Sports Exerc
Muscle strengthening through high-resistance weight training in patients with neuromuscular disorders
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Muscle strengthening through electric stimulation combined with low-resistance weights in patients with neuromuscular disorders
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
Cited by (161)
The bi-directional relationship between sleep and inflammation in muscular dystrophies: A narrative review
2023, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral ReviewsEfficacy of aerobic exercise on aerobic capacity in slowly progressive neuromuscular diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2023, Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation MedicineMultidisciplinary rehabilitation is relevant in severe myasthenia gravis: An observation
2022, Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation MedicinePerformance and Self-reported Functioning of People With Chronic Idiopathic Axonal Polyneuropathy: A 4-Year Follow-up Study
2020, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.