Talk to your doctor or physiotherapist about exercise before you start, especially if you are still undergoing diagnosis or having heart investigations.
Exercise caution when selecting the type of strengthening exercise for some muscle-wasting conditions.
These pages aim to provide:
1. examples of the benefits of exercise and activity
2. how to get and stay active
3. principles and priorities for safe and effective activity and exercise
4. top tips
5. links to additional resources and FAQs to support individuals to exercise and live well with their muscle-wasting condition.
General health benefits of keeping active and exercising
- Reduces the risk of other diseases (e.g. heart disease and type 2 Diabetes) and promotes a healthy lifestyle.
- Improves heart and lung function to optimise stamina and endurance.
- Makes sure your unaffected muscles are working as well as they can, in other words avoiding weakness not directly caused by the muscle-wasting condition.
- May improve or maintain your ability to perform everyday tasks.
- Reduces avoidable weakness from not using muscles.
- Can reduce fatigue.
- Can improve bone density.
- Can help in controlling your weight.
- Improves your mood/helps you manage stress.
- Can improve your sleep.
- Can help in reducing pain.
- Helps to maintain or improve joint range of movement.
Researchers have not yet identified the optimum amount and type of physical activity/exercise for people with muscle-wasting conditions.
It is, however, widely agreed that being inactive is harmful to health and being active in whatever way you can be, is good.