Building Strength for SMA with Exercise and Physical Therapy
For people living with SMA, building strength through exercise and physical therapy does not mean pushing the body beyond its limits; it means supporting mobility, flexibility, comfort, endurance, and quality of life in a safe and personalized way. Physical therapy can help individuals with SMA work toward maintaining function, preventing stiffness, supporting posture, improving positioning, and making everyday movements as manageable as possible. Physical therapists can help people with SMA improve or maintain mobility while also supporting breathing practices, coughing techniques, and respiratory care.
Exercise and physical therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy should be adapted to each person’s abilities, fatigue level, breathing needs, mobility, and medical history. Some people with SMA may benefit from gentle stretching, range-of-motion exercises, aquatic therapy, posture support, assisted movement, wheelchair positioning, or supervised strengthening activities. The Muscular Dystrophy Association’s at-home SMA physical therapy guidance recommends staying below a moderate exertion level and paying attention to fatigue during exercises. Research has also found that a supervised, home-based progressive resistance exercise program was feasible, safe, and well tolerated in children with SMA, while other rehabilitation research notes that the goal of strengthening may be to use available muscle tissue and help reduce deterioration from disuse.
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