Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an update on clinic and rehabilitation
International Journal of Development Research
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an update on clinic and rehabilitation
Received 20th June, 2021; Received in revised form 29th July, 2021; Accepted 04th August, 2021; Published online 29th September, 2021
Copyright © 2021, Marco Orsini et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a inexorable and degenerative disease that affects the neurons of the anterior horn of the spinal cord, brainstem and motor cortex. The main initial complaint is muscle weakness, with amyotrophy, reduced muscle strength, and myofasciculations revealed by physical exam. It is worth mentioning that when the early signs of paresis are noticed, commonly as loss of dexterity in the hands or unexplained tripping, the patients have already lost about 80% of the motor neurons in this region. This principle is valid for the muscles of the upper and lower limbs, for breathing and swallowing. The possibility of inducing an injury by “overtraining”, that may cause intense metabolic demand on already ailing motor units is the primary concern of the professionals that deal with motor rehabilitation. The exercises (type, frequency and intensity) must respect the peculiarities of patients, by performing frequent revaluations.
