Whole Body Vibration Training Lowers Serum Creatine Kinase Levels in Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy refers to a group of genetic diseases associated with progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a particularly severe and fatal form of this disease, affecting 1 in 3500 live born males [1]. It is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene leading to a loss of dystrophin [2]. This results in progressive muscle degeneration, wheelchair dependency during adolescence, and death as early as the third decade of life. Currently, there is no cure. Treatment focuses on supportive care and use of glucocorticoids to prolong independent ambulation and to delay the onset of secondary complications [3]. Exercise has long been considered as a potential disease-modifying treatment for muscular dystrophies [4,5]. Studies including the use of animal models have helped to elucidate the importance of using submaximal exercise, the danger of eccentric exercise, as well as the potential safe use of concentric exercise in DMD [6,7]. To date, there are only a few human studies on the effects of exercise in DMD; most studies using submaximal resistance exercises have shown that exercise can be implemented without any harm to the patients [8,9]. The last 10 to 15 years have seen an increasingly unified call to perform additional studies to elucidate the many unanswered questions regarding optimal exercise programs for DMD [3,5,10,11]. Recently, the No Use is Disuse study by Jansen et al aimed to address some of the unresolved issues by examining prospectively the effects of physical training on thirty boys with DMD [12]. The authors concluded that assisted bicycle exercise had a major impact on slowing the deterioration of muscles when compared to controls; they did not however find significant improvements in strength or endurance [12]. The encouraging results supported the need for additional studies to explore alternative forms of exercise for individuals with DMD across different stages of disability.