Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 14, 2022; 10(2): 397-400
Published online Jan 14, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i2.397
New trends in treatment of muscle fatigue throughout rehabilitation of elderlies with motor neuron diseases
Ayman Mohamed
Ayman Mohamed, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Beni-Suef University, Beni Suef 62511, Egypt
Ayman Mohamed, Rehabilitation Engineering Lab, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, United States
Author contributions: Mohamed wrote and revised this editorial.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ayman Mohamed, BSc, MSc, PhD, Lecturer, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Beni-Suef University, Faiyum-Beni Suef Rd, Qism Bani Sweif, Beni Suef 62511, Egypt. dr_ayman_pt@pt.bsu.edu.eg
Received: February 21, 2021
Peer-review started: February 21, 2021
First decision: July 18, 2021
Revised: July 20, 2021
Accepted: December 9, 2021
Article in press: December 9, 2021
Published online: January 14, 2022
Abstract

Muscle fatigue is a problem in rehabilitation, particularly in elderlies and patients with motor neuron diseases. There are high contradictions in the effectiveness of the used methods to decrease muscle fatigue during rehabilitation. They mainly concentrate on increasing rest periods, decreasing training load, or using an ascending intensity of manner of exercise. The training should focus on the newly discovered sensory system of muscle fatigue because of the important role of the sensory system in driving the motor system. Thus, this editorial provides insight on using proprioceptive training to enhance the sensory system of muscle fatigue.

Keywords: Muscle fatigue, Rehabilitation, Elderlies, Motor neuron diseases

Core Tip: Muscle fatigue is a major problem in rehabilitation. This editorial suggests the use of proprioceptive training in the management of muscle fatigue because it directly trains the sensory system of muscle fatigue which is the proprioceptors. This will enable the body to sense muscle fatigue and well respond to it. In addition, proprioceptive training can normalize and increase the firing rate of motor neurons through the renormalization of presynaptic inhibition and Ia muscle afferents. This could assist in increasing the number of calcium ions into the sarcoplasmic reticulum and skeletal muscles.