SynthesisPloS one2013
Efficacy of muscle exercise in patients with muscular dystrophy: a systematic review showing a missed opportunity to improve outcomes.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Muscular Exercise on Patients With Muscular Dystrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Literature.Frontiers in neurology · 2020Pooled it
- Cybernic treatment with wearable cyborg Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) improves ambulatory function in patients with slowly progressive rare neuromuscular diseases: a multicentre, randomised, controlled crossover trial for efficacy and safety (NCY-3001).Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2021Trial
- Resveratrol improves motor function in patients with muscular dystrophies: an open-label, single-arm, phase IIa study.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Intradialytic exercise improves physical function and reduces intradialytic hypotension and depression in hemodialysis patients.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2019Trial
- Characterization of Dystrophin-Related Syndromes: Carriers, DMD, and BMD.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Limb-girdle muscular dystrophies: A scoping review and overview of currently available rehabilitation strategies.Muscle & nerve · 2025Article
- Article
- Nanomedicine for Treating Muscle Dystrophies: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Article
- The new challenge of "exercise + X″ therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy-Individualized identification of exercise tolerance and precise implementation of exercise intervention.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Review
- A pilot study of a single intermittent arm cycling exercise programme on people affected by Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD).PloS one · 2022Article
- Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy: A Patients' Perspective.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2021Article
- Management of motor rehabilitation in individuals with muscular dystrophies. 1Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology · 2021Article
- Beneficial Role of Exercise in the Modulation ofAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Proposing a Core Outcome Set for Physical Activity and Exercise Interventions in People With Rare Neurological Conditions.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2021Article
- Physical activity in myotonic dystrophy type 1.Journal of neurology · 2020Observational
- Exercise in neuromuscular disorders: a promising intervention.Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology · 2019Review
- Low intensity training improves redox status and reduces collagen fibers on dystrophic muscle.Journal of exercise rehabilitation · 2019Article
- Precision Medicine and Exercise Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- Physical exertion exacerbates decline in the musculature of an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough muscular dystrophy causes muscle weakness and muscle loss, the role of exercise in the management of this disease remains controversial.
objectiveThe purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the role of exercise interventions on muscle strength in patients with muscular dystrophy.
methodsWe performed systematic electronic searches in Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and Pedro as well as a list of reference literature. We included trials assessing muscle exercise in patients with muscular dystrophy. Two reviewers independently abstracted data and appraised risk of bias.
resultsWe identified five small (two controlled and three randomized clinical) trials comprising 242 patients and two ongoing randomized controlled trials. We were able to perform two meta-analyses. We found an absence of evidence for a difference in muscle strength (MD 4.18, 95% CIs - 2.03 to 10.39; p = 0.91) and in endurance (MD -0.53, 95% CIs -1.11 to 0.05; p = 0.26). In both, the direction of effects favored muscle exercise.
conclusionsThe first included trial about the efficacy of muscular exercise was published in 1978. Even though some benefits of muscle exercise were consistently reported across studies, the benefits might be due to the small size of studies and other biases. Detrimental effects are still possible. After several decades of research, doctors cannot give advice and patients are, thus, denied basic information. A multi-center randomized trial investigating the strength of muscles, fatigue, and functional limitations is needed.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.