Fitness and walking outcomes following aerobic and lower extremity strength training in facioscapulohumeral dystrophy: a case series

Abstract

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a common form of adult muscular dystrophy often resulting also in cardiorespiratory deconditioning and weakness of the lower limbs. Although previous studies examined outcomes of interventions aimed at improving either cardiorespiratory fitness or muscle strength, the potential benefits of a rehabilitation program targeting both remain unexplored. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate changes following participation in a rehabilitation program combining aerobic and strength exercises. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 10 subjects with FSHD who participated in our rehabilitation program during 2018 and 2019. Each of the 20 sessions consisted of aerobic training on a cycloergometer and a moderate lower limb strength exercises on an isokinetic machine in combination with conventional therapy. The primary outcomes were walking speed, aerobic performance and isokinetic strength of the knee extensors and flexors. The secondary outcomes were fatigue, insomnia. VO2max and walking speed increased significantly by 2.125 ml·kg−1·min−1 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.75–3.62, P = 0.022] and 0.28 m/s (95% CI: 0.16–0.4, P = 0.002), respectively. The effect size was small for V02max (Hedge’s g, 0.44; 95% CI: −0.5 to 1.37) and large for walking speed (Hedge’s g, 0.99; 95% CI: 0.06–1.92). The knee flexor strength significantly increased at rehabilitation discharge (repeated measures analysis of variance P = 0.004). Positive changes in fatigue and insomnia were also observed. Our preliminary results provide evidence that a relatively short course of a comprehensive rehabilitation program targeting both cardiorespiratory fitness and knee muscle strength can be beneficial for people with FSHD, which warrants further prospective studies.