Treatment of muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is a whole group of various hereditary diseases in which there is a noticeable symmetrical skeletal muscle atrophy, usually occurring without loss of limb sensitivity and pain. Sometimes, in muscular dystrophy, there is a peculiar paradox, when the affected muscles become visually greater due to the growth of fatty deposits and connective tissue, and because of this they look strong and large.

At the moment there is still no remedy capable of completely curing muscular dystrophy. This pathology is divided into four main varieties. Approximately 50% of all cases of muscular dystrophy is Dyschenne's dystrophy. Basically, this disease develops in a very young age and by 20 years a person dies. Less common is Becker's dystrophy, which develops much more slowly and patients live up to 40 years or more. The other two kinds of dystrophy, this is limb-waist and shoulder-lobular-facial, fortunately, these two types of illness usually do not affect the life expectancy.

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Causes of development and treatment of muscular dystrophy

Becker muscular dystrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy are exclusively related to genetic inheritance, since both are caused by genes that are in the sex chromosome. Dyschenne's dystrophy and Becker's dystrophy are exclusively men. Lumbar-lumbar and shoulder-lobular-facial dystrophy have no connection with sex chromosomes and develop in both women and men.

Symptoms of muscular dystrophy

All types of muscular dystrophy cause the development of progressive muscle atrophy, but there are differences between them in terms of the time of onset of the disease and its severity.

  • Dyschenne's dystrophy is seen in children from 3 to 5 years old. Such children run with great difficulty or can not run at all, it is difficult for them to climb the stairs and they can be distinguished by a characteristic gait waddling. There is a symptom, called "pterygoid shoulder blades": when a man raises his hands, his shoulder blades seem to "lag" behind the body. By the age of nine, a maximum of twelve years the patient can no longer move himself. Death most often occurs due to atrophy of the heart muscle, which leads to a fatal infection, cardiac or respiratory failure.
  • The symptoms of Becker's dystrophy usually appear at the age of five, but sick children often remain able to walk independently after 14-15 years. This disease has much in common with the above-described dystrophia Duschenne, but the development of the disease is much slower.
  • Shoulder-shovel-facial dystrophy proceeds relatively benignly and develops very slowly. The first signs of the disease can manifest itself to ten years, but there are cases that it occurs only in adolescence. The faces of such children are usually inactive, even when they cry or laugh. Sometimes they have an abnormal facial expression and they can not lift their arms above their heads.

For an accurate diagnosis of the disease you need to consult a specialist. The doctor will examine the child, ask about what diseases the relatives and family members were ill or sick, and then give directions to the necessary studies.

Now in many modern medical centers, with the help of immunological and molecular biological studies, it is possible to find out whether muscular dystrophy develops in the child or not. Parents can also be screened to identify the presence or absence of genes that determine the muscular dystrophies of Becker and Duchenne.

What is the treatment for muscular dystrophy?

Completely cure muscular dystrophy is currently considered impossible, but it is possible to prolong the life of the child and keep his mobility for a longer period, so treatment of dystrophy is very important.

If a child is diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, then he can be helped to retain the mobility longer:

  • Surgical intervention
  • Orthopedic devices, which are special tires.
  • Physiotherapy consisting of active and passive movements that involve all joints and are performed in different positions and with different positions of the limbs. Great importance is given to breathing exercises. However, one should not forget that the patient is contraindicated in excessive exercises and never give too much load.

Food has some significance. Patients with muscular dystrophy are strongly recommended a protein-rich diet, with a small amount of fat and calorie content.

Massages and steroids also play a huge role in the fight against muscular dystrophy. It is necessary to select a suitable regimen for taking steroid drugs. It is very important to remember that immunization procedures are followed. Before starting the course of taking steroids, it is necessary to find out the possibility of occurrence of any side effects and the presence of contraindications. Steroid therapy is important at all stages of the course of the disease, because it significantly reduces the rate of development of muscular dystrophy.

Some doctors advise rubbing fresh butter into the muscles. Prepare the oil in this way: put milk in the refrigerator for a while, then gently remove the milk from the milk formed on top and make oil out of it. You can also rub the film itself.

The oil is rubbed together with a massage, which should be done approximately this way:

  1. About 20 minutes( for children less) you need to rub fresh oil into the back, paying special attention to the spine.
  2. 5 minutes to rub into the back of the thigh movements from the bottom up.
  3. 5 minutes rub in the back of the lower leg, also from the bottom up. After that, rub into the other thigh and lower leg.
  4. 5 minutes rub into the front of the thigh.
  5. For 5 minutes, rub first into the front of the shin, and then stop. Then the same with the other leg.

After the massage, lie down covered or wrapped in a sheet for an hour or more.