From the editorial (www.neurology.org/content/85/5/392.extract?etoc): “;Traditionally patients with peripheral nerve and muscle disorders were often advised to reduce their physical activity in order to preserve their limited motor function for activities of daily living. Patients with acute radiculopathies for example were often admitted to inpatient services for extended bed rest as standard treatment.” …….. “This research group and others have also found positive results with aerobic exercise in other dystrophies including myotonic dystrophy and Duchenne dystrophy.These studies support a growing body of literature suggesting that;clinicians have underemphasized the effectiveness of exercise for patients with many neurologic disorders not just those in the neuromuscular realm. . In addition to the motor benefits of exercise and increased activity recent articles in Neurology have shown strong association of activity with decreased risk of Alzheimer disease;and increased preservation of gray matter volume.10 Maximizing their function through exercise and activity can allow patients to retain an increased locus of control over their decreased function which may lead to an overall better sense of wellbeing as evidenced in the Anderson FSHD study by increased Short Form–36 scores.5 It would serve patients well to change priorities and make aerobic exercise one of the first interventions to be considered rather than an afterthought when developing treatment plans for patients with neurologic disease” ; Original article:;Andersen G Prahm KP Dahlqvist JR Citirak G Vissing J. Aerobic training and postexercise protein in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy: RCT study. Neurology 2015;85:396–403.
