Guest Author - Wollie Woehler

Your body needs physical exercise in the same way that your brain needs stimulation. As your muscles are targeted by neuromuscular diseases, special care should be taken when you go to the gymnasium or do your work-outs at home. It is important to remember that you cannot build new muscles as they will also become weak as result of your neuromuscular disease.

That does not mean that you cannot do any exercises at all. As we are talking in general here, we are not going to suggest sets of exercises fit for everyone with a neuromuscular disease. Talk to your doctor and physiotherapist about a program that fits your condition.

A definite no-no therapist is the one who wants to help you “regain” your weakened muscle strength. They tend to over work the already weak muscles and do more damage than good. What you have to do though, is to keep up the muscle strength you still have without over doing it. Your body is your best friend when it comes to know when to stop exercising. That does not mean that you can use your muscle deterioration as an excuse for not exercising at all. If your body allows you to walk 1 kilometer, don’t try to do 4. On the other hand if you can do 3 kilometers, don’t try to do only one. Walking is still one of the best ways to stay fit and healthy.

If you are a wheelchair user, move whatever muscles are still capable of movement, and do stretch exercises to keep the still working muscles in tone as long as possible.

Your diet also determines whether your body is as healthy as it should be. If the muscles in your legs are affected, you should keep your weight with in the limits of what your doctor or dietician suggests. We expect our weakened muscles to do the same as is the case for someone with healthy, no complications muscles. Remember if you walked 1 kilometer, your body had to work so hard that the muscles in your legs covered twice the distance you walked as they had to work so much harder than your friend’s who has no muscle defects. If you are over weight your poor legs have to cope with the extra weight it have to carry and further weakening can be faster than it would be if your body’s weight does not add to the stress of walking.

Again we are not going to describe any diets that is the work of your dietician. General guide lines of a healthy diet will be discussed. As always, your feedback will be most welcome. Our circumstances differ, our physical environment differs, certain products are available in one part of the world and other products grow and are manufactured with specific users in another part of the world in mind. Ever noticed that a recipe for consumers in one country need to be adjusted, if possible and there are not too many specified ingredients unavailable in your home town. Even if you can find some rare products, the end result is not necessarily the same as when the original cook used it.