Myotonic disorders. Systematic review of physical aspects and response to exercise

Abstract

Introduction: Myotonic disorders are neuromuscular diseases that present myotonia as the main symptom and, depending on the affectation, certain activities of daily life can be compromised. Patients with this symptom often complain of stiffness that may worsen with cold or fatigue, but some studies claim that this symptomatology improves with repeated muscle activation. Therefore, the objective of the study was to analyze the physical characteristics, as well as their response to the exercise of the inherited TM.
Development: In the month of December 2018 a systematic search was carried out in the PubMed, Medline, Scopus and Cinahl databases. A total of 15 articles were obtained after applying the selection criteria divided into three sections: assessment of physical and functional abilities, assessment of myotonia and effect of exercise programs.
Conclusion: The main affectation that was found in TM is in strength, but balance, gait and performance were also altered. Likewise, moderate and habitual exercise helps improve physical abilities, providing a better quality of life. However, more studies of high methodological quality are needed to verify these findings and to better understand which type of exercises are the most suitable for the different acquisitions.