Feasibility of foot and ankle strength training in childhood Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Burns, Joshua; Raymond, Jacqueline; Ouvrier, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.nmd.2009.09.007

« Previous Next »Neuromuscular Disorders
Volume 19, Issue 12 , Pages 818-821, December 2009

Feasibility of foot and ankle strength training in childhood Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Joshua Burns
- Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney/Institute for Neuroscience and Muscle Research, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Corresponding author. Address: Institute for Neuroscience and Muscle Research, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia. Tel.: +61 2 9845 1228; fax: +61 2 9845 1317.
Jacqueline Raymond
- Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Exercise, Health and Performance Research Group, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
Robert Ouvrier
- Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney/Institute for Neuroscience and Muscle Research, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Received 24 June 2009; received in revised form 10 September 2009; accepted 14 September 2009.

Abstract

Weakness of ankle dorsiflexion is the cardinal manifestation of CMT. We investigated if a 12-week progressive resistance dorsiflexion strengthening program was feasible, safe and beneficial in a 15-year-old girl with an axonal form of CMT. Training load was based on a dose-escalating percentage of one-repetition maximum, completed on three non-consecutive days each week. Outcomes included dynamometric foot strength, motor function and instrumented walking ability. At 12-weeks, dorsiflexion strength improved 56–72% and plantarflexion strength by 15–20%. Standing long jump increased by 16%, while balance and endurance did not. Walking ability improved for speed, cadence, step time and stride length. Compliance was high and there were no adverse events. This case suggests progressive strength training might be a feasible intervention to help foot weakness and disability in childhood CMT.

Keywords: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Foot, Ankle, Weakness, Strength, Therapy, Intervention, Child