Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular Dystrophy
Condition 1
Due date.Draft-18 May, 2009 Final-5 Jun, 2009 19 Jun, 2009
Simon Marks

Description - Muscular dystrophy is a condition that comes in many forms and is a genetic, hereditary disease that weakens the muscles that move the human body. It can be a multi-system disorder affecting body systems including the heart, gastrointestinal and nervous systems, endocrine glands, skin, eyes and other organs. The many forms over one hundred in total are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue. Nine diseases including Duchenne, Becker, limb girdle, congenital, facioscapulohumeral, myotonic, oculopharyngeal, distal, and Emery-Dreifuss are the main forms of muscular dystrophy but there are more than 100 diseases in total with similarities to muscular dystrophy.

Etiology - Muscular dystrophy is caused by various genetic mechanisms. One is due to the lack of or faulty muscle protein called dystrophin involved in maintaining the integrity of muscle, in the case of Duchenne’s and Becker’s the main type of MD is due to defects on the X Chromosome. The inheritance pattern includes the sex-linked, autosomal recessive, and autosomal dominant MDs. Within each group of heritable MDs, several disorders exist.

Heritable MDs include the following:
• Sex-linked MDs
o Duchenne
o Becker
o Emery-Dreifuss
• Autosomal dominant MDs
o Facioscapulohumeral
o Distal
o Ocular
o Oculopharyngeal
• Autosomal recessive MD – limb-girdle form (Twee Do, 31/03/2009)

Incidence - 500 - 600 male newborns are diagnosed with muscular dystrophy each year in the US, Duchenne and Becker types (wrongdiagnosis.com, 06/05/2009)

Signs and symptoms - Generally a loss in muscle tissue and weakness are the main signs there but some times the loss of muscle tissue can be hard to see because some types of muscular dystrophy cause a build up of fat and connective tissue that makes the muscle appear larger. This is called pseudohypertrophy. If medical help is sort then DNA tests or results from a muscle biopsy can identify the disease.

Main symptoms include

• Progressive muscular wasting (weakness)
• Poor balance
• Frequent falls
• Walking difficulty
• Waddling gait
• Calf pain
• Limited range of movement
• Respiratory difficulty
• Drooping eyelids (ptosis)
• Gonadal atrophy (wasting away of)
• Scoliosis (curvature of the spine)
• Inability to walk
(Wikipedia 17/05/2009)

Indications and contraindications for massage therapy

There is no loss of sensation or neural activity so massage pressures can be checked with client. It is recommended for treatment to move and stretch all joints actively and passively to increase range of motion. Massage helps to slow down muscle atrophy. Abdominal massage may help to relieve constipation that clients could be suffering due to the effects of the disorder on the involuntary muscles. Be patient and cautious as the client gets on and off the table as they will be physically weak and have a lack of balance.

Reference list

Dr. Premkumar, K. (1959). Pathology A to Z: A handbook for massage therapists (2nd Ed.). Canada: VanPub Books.

Wikipedia, May 17th 2009.. Retrieved 18/05/2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscular_dystrophy

Wrongdiagnosis.com, May 6th 2009. What is muscular dystrophy - How many people get muscular dystrophy. Retrieved 18/05/2009 http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/m/musdys/basics.htm

Wrongdiagnosis.com, May 6th 2009. Muscular Dystrophy - Causes and incidence. Retrieved 18/05/2009 http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/m/musdys/book-diseases-7a.htm

Twee Do, March 31st 2009. E Medicine - Muscular Dystrophy. Retrieved 18/05/2009
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1259041-overview