Page 61 - Mann Ki Baat - November2022
P. 61
Physiotherapy keeps the Strength of Various Muscles Intact
"I am Dr. Giriraj Ratan
Chandak working at the Centre
for Cellular and Molecular
Biology as a physician-scientist.
Muscular Dystrophy (MD) is an
unfortunate hereditary disease
in which the muscles of your
body stop working and with
time due to non-usage of the
muscles they turn loose and
reduce in volume and strength. Different kinds of physiotherapy
The beginning of MD happens can help the patient keep
in the muscles of the hands the strength of their various
and legs but eventually, it muscles intact and can help
affects every muscle including them lead their regular life with
cardiac muscles and the ease.
muscles surrounding the lungs. Prevention is the only cure
Due to this, MD is fatal. Another available for this disease.
peculiarity of MD is that it can The patients should consult a
affect a person of any age and neurologist and then should go
gender, the reason is that MDs for a genetic test to understand
are of various types, hence the kind of disease the patient
it is important to analyse the has. If a lady has the condition,
kind of MD that a patient is and she plans to get pregnant,
suffering from. At present we are the doctors can guide her.
aware of at least 30-40 types Also during the pregnancy, the
of MD. amniotic fluid can be taken from
Even more unfortunate fact the womb to know whether the
about MD is that there is no cure disease will affect the infant
available for it. Hence, the major or not.
treatment for MD is to keep the There is a lot of research
unaffected muscles active and being conducted in other
keep their strength constant. countries and India. We are
Many doctors administer hopeful that techniques like gene-
steroids to the patient, but for editing, muscle-specific therapy
me, physiotherapy plays a very will cure the patients in near
important role in the treatment. future."
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