Considering exercise safety while working out with CMT
It's important for CMTers to keep our needs and limitations in mind
To help clients improve balance and proprioception, or our ability to perceive our bodies in space, many personal trainers suggest starting with basic exercises and slowly working up to more challenging ones. One of the most rudimentary and approachable exercises, for some, is balancing on one leg.
Many of us with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) want to improve our balance and work on our proprioception. But balancing on one leg can be incredibly challenging for us. Doing so for an extended period of time would be a significant accomplishment.
Much of the fitness world simply isn’t constructed with CMTers in mind. Yet we all know how important exercise is for holistic health and wellness. It’s a shame that many of us in the disability community face hurdles when we try to stay physically active.
Exercise safety is crucial for CMTers
Helping people with different abilities overcome these hurdles is something that Julie Stone, a personal trainer certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a CMT advocate, does almost daily.
“The exercise world wasn’t built for people with CMT,” Stone told me via video chat a few weeks ago. “Even if you look into the world of adaptive fitness, it’s not targeted toward us CMTers; it’s largely targeted toward seniors or people with spinal cord injuries. And while some of that is beneficial for us, there are certain things that we CMTers specifically need to work on, and oftentimes that stuff isn’t covered or emphasized.”
According to Stone, CMTers should focus on the activities we enjoy while also ensuring we do the important movements that can help us fight CMT symptom progression. Through all of this, we must consider exercise safety and our individual constraints.
For me, safety means staying away from barbell squat and dead-lift movements. I just don’t have the mobility or strength required to perform those exercises safely. Luckily, I’ve found some appropriate options through working with a personal trainer.
Stone has also made accommodations to suit her own needs.
“I love dancing, but standing dance would be so detrimental to my body — my knees — so I do wheelchair dance,” Stone said. “It brings me a ton of joy and it gives me a really good cardio workout.”
Exercise safety also means continuously checking in with our bodies. We should be aware of what we’re feeling, our energy level, and if any part of us is sore or not functioning at 100%.
“I always tell people to meet themselves where they are at because one day you can feel on top of the world and the next, you can feel terrible,” Stone said.
According to Stone, one of the best ways for CMTers to ensure they exercise safely is to work with a professional such as a physical therapist or a personal trainer. In addition to offering expertise and guidance, these professionals can provide encouragement and offer suggestions on how to sustainably incorporate fitness into day-to-day life.
There are even many CMTers who work in fitness.
“Having someone who can watch you to make sure you’re not doing something that can damage your body and to ensure you’re balancing out all your muscle imbalances to actually work the intended muscles instead of overrelying on the muscles that are already strong can be really important,” Stone said.
Note: Charcot-Marie-Tooth News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Charcot-Marie-Tooth News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Charcot-Marie-Tooth.
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Comments
David Denslow
The Scandinavian countries provide balance training. You're on a mat and wear a harness. A trainer shoves you at random intervals and you try to keep your balance. It reduces injuries from falls by about 16%.
I also practice falling, for which you can consult a number of videos. When you feel yourself falling, bend your knees, drop whatever you're carrying (never carry babies), protect your head, and try to fall on your side. Practice on a mat or soft run. When you fall the danger it not so much a bruised shoulder or even a broken hip (despite misinformation to the contrary) but rather a head injury, often fatal. Practice makes it reflexive and has helped me three or four times.
Jean Krogstad.
I do Chair yoga dance exercises plus a Fit and Fall Prevention class which centers on stretching and balance.
yvonne day
Hi Yes to have exercise that works with the condition and would strengthen those weaker muscles is what ia needed. my son hasCMT1 and is lrgley more affected than I am but he is only 21. The biggest issue is the muscles in his hand and fingers trying to keep them going .