A reabilitação dos indivíduos com esclerose lateral amiotrófica por meio do exercício física regular e moderado: uma revisão

Abstract

When a disease affects the motor neuron (NM), these lose the ability to send impulses to the muscles, thus starting an atrophy and muscle weakness. The most frequent form of the disease that affects the motor neuron is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), being a devastating and fatal neurodegenerative disease, causing quickly the death of NM and leading to death from three to five years after diagnosis, usually due to respiratory failure. It has several symptoms, since it may affect both upper and lower motor neuron or associated, being fatigue, weakness and atrophy early signs, which appear, at first, in an asymmetrical and distal way to the members. The cause is still uncertain and unknown, in both sporadic and familiar form, except in few cases (familiar form) caused by a mutation in the copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1). The ALS etiology is believed to be multifactorial, involving genetic, environmental and endogenous factors. At present, The ALS patients are recommended to be helped by a multidisciplinary team, since there are no effective pharmacological treatments, as well as an effective therapy. Objective: To investigate the literature on the use of moderate physical exercise in the treatment of ALS, and if there is a consensus on its use and its effects in relation to disease progression, survival and quality of life of patients. Methods: We performed a search in the databases SciELO, PubMed, Medline, bireme, lilacs, IBECS, Cochrane VHL MEDCARIB, WHOLIS, Peter, both in the languages English, Portuguese and Spanish, using the following keywords: exercise therapy, motor rehabilitation, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, neuromuscular diseases, physical therapy, physical rehabilitation, exercise, physical activity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Results: The majority of studies supports the use of moderate physical exercise in ALS, as evident functional improvement and improvement in muscle strength, even for a short time, thus providing patients with better quality of life. Conclusion: Although the role of exercise in ALS, as well as its benefits are still controversial and conflicting, moderate exercise may be a treatment option in ALS, since practical exercises using active are able to provide benefits to the body.