3 Ways to Exercise With Muscular Dystrophy

1. Do Active Exercise If You Can

Active exercise is very important to continue in the early stages of muscular dystrophy (MD), if possible, especially for young children. Riding bikes, swinging on the playground and just playing with friends will help develop your child's motor skills, strengthen his bones and give a sense of normalcy to your family's life. People who have MD should not exercise to the point that they are completely exhausted. The more you use your muscles, the more you damage them. Conserving some of your energy is important in this degenerative disease. Try to balance harder tasks, like walking up a slope or a staircase, with non-weight-bearing exercises like riding a bike.

2. Passive Stretching Maintains Flexibility

Stretching your hip, ankle, knee and arm muscles is crucial in the middle stages of MD to maintain flexibility and range of movement for as long as you can. Even when walking becomes difficult or impossible, you can do some passive stretching as part of an exercise routine. If you go to physical therapy, your therapist can help you with these exercises and discuss the ways in which you can still exercise on your own.

3. Hydro-Therapy Takes Pressure off Muscles

Swimming is an ideal activity for people who have muscular dystrophy because the water takes pressure off of your muscles. Children in early stages of the disease should learn to swim, which can encourage them to be independent and do as much as they are able to. Swimming is good for your respiratory system as well as for building muscle. When your muscle weakness grows worse and you can't swim any longer, you may want to turn to hydrotherapy as a form of physical therapy. Without having to deal with gravity, your muscles may respond better to stretching and exercise in the water than out of it.