Key result
Physical therapy offers the most promise in caring for patients with muscular dystrophies, as gene therapy is unlikely to significantly alter clinical treatment in the near future.
Physical therapy remains the most promising approach for managing patients with muscular dystrophies, as genetic advances have not yet translated into clinical treatments.
Supports emphasis on physical therapy for muscular dystrophies; leaves open whether gene therapies will eventually alter management.
The genetic basis of many muscular disorders, including many of the more common muscular dystrophies, is now known. Clinically, the recent genetic advances have improved diagnostic capabilities, but they have not yet provided clues about treatment or management. Thanks to better management strategies and therapeutic interventions, however, many patients with a muscular dystrophy are more active and are living longer. Physical therapists, therefore, are more likely to see a patient with a muscular dystrophy, so understanding these muscle disorders and their management is essential. Physical therapy offers the most promise in caring for the majority of patients with these conditions, because it is unlikely that advances in gene therapy will significantly alter their clinical treatment in the near future. This perspective covers some of the basic molecular biological advances together with the clinical manifestations of the muscular dystrophies and the latest approaches to their management.
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Lovering et al. (2005) conducted a review in Muscular dystrophies. Physical therapy and management strategies was evaluated. Physical therapy offers the most promise in caring for patients with muscular dystrophies, as gene therapy is unlikely to significantly alter clinical treatment in the near future.
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