According to MedlinePlus, signs that may indicate a neuromuscular disease include problems with your muscles, the nerves that control your muscles, and the communication between your muscles and nerves. These conditions could cause the muscles to weaken and eventually deteriorate. If you’re grappling with the reality of having a neuromuscular disease, you should know that there are ways to manage it.
If you live in Marco Island, the doctors at Naples Community Injury Center can design a neuromuscular disease treatment plan for you. We may incorporate rehabilitative exercises and chiropractic care for optimal results. Connect with our team today at (239) 631-5445 to set up your first appointment.
What Is a Neuromuscular Disease?
If your nerves, muscles, and the way they communicate is off, you may have a neuromuscular disease. It’s not always easy to identify how our muscles and nerves interact with each other, but signs to watch for include:
- Muscle weakness
- Muscle spasms
- Twitching
- Pain
We’ve seen many patients with the following neuromuscular diseases:
- Muscular dystrophy
- Spinal muscular atrophy
- Cerebral palsy
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
These conditions and others can infringe on your independence and quality of life. The good news is that certain care techniques can help you regain these losses to some extent. Although there is no cure for many neuromuscular diseases, our doctors can prescribe you treatments to help you live a fulfilling life while coping with these symptoms.
Common Treatments We Render to Our Marco Island Patients With Neuromuscular Diseases
When you come to our office for your first appointment, we will give you a questionnaire to learn about all things regarding your condition, like your limitations, your pain levels, and if anything in particular triggers a flare-up. We ask you to bring in any related documentation if you’ve sought treatment from other physicians. That includes:
- Imaging scans
- Blood test results
- A written diagnosis or list of appointments
- Prescribed medications
- Doctor’s notes
We can also conduct a physical exam so we can fully understand the effects of your neuromuscular disease in real time.
From there, we will craft a treatment plan that accounts for what you are going through. Common treatments we recommend for our patients with neuromuscular diseases include:
Rehabilitation
A lot of neuromuscular diseases result from a problem with the nervous system, which consists of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. That said, many patients have issues with their mobility, and for a long time, scientists believed that there was no way for them to work around these limitations. However, neurologists have found that some therapies help the brain relearn certain movements.
Based on your condition and goals, we may incorporate one of these techniques into your treatment:
- Weight-supported treadmill training: You can practice walking by using a harness that lifts some or all of your weight off the treadmill.
- Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT): You can build strength by practicing repetitive movements without using the uninjured or unaffected limb.
- Constraint-induced language therapy: If you have trouble speaking, this therapy will help improve your speech, as well as other neurological functions.
Spinal Manipulation
Your neuromuscular disease might cause you back, spinal, and joint pain. Spinal manipulations realign your vertebra, taking pressure off the muscles and nerves and sometimes providing immediate relief. Usually, the chiropractor uses their hands to perform this non-invasive procedure.
However, sometimes the force is too much for patients, and they may prefer a gentler approach. If that’s the case for you, your doctor can use a small handheld device that exerts quick, short thrusts to force the spine and joints back into proper alignment.
Gait Training
If you suffered a stroke and lost some of the mobility in your legs, you may benefit from gait training. While enabling you to safely and slowly push your limits, it helps build strength, mitigates pain, and improves balance.
Massage Therapy
This treatment has been practiced for over 5,000 years, and the reasons go far beyond, “It feels good.” It offers a plethora of benefits, such as:
- Creating space between joints
- Relieving muscle tension and nerve compression
- Improving flexibility
- Increasing your range of motion
- Healing scar tissue
- Reducing inflammation
- Improving blood circulation
Having looser, more relaxed muscles, as opposed to taut and achy muscles, will help you get the most out of the rest of the treatments.
How Former Patients Have Felt About Working With Our Team of Physicians
There are ways we can help you live as independently and pain-free as possible. We’ve taken this approach with other patients, so check out what some of them had to say about working with us:
- “I can’t say enough positive things about this place. Dr. Nieves is great…He was very knowledgeable and made me feel at ease knowing I was in good hands. The entire staff is wonderful and very personable. I highly recommend this office.” – Kailyn H.
- “My experience was incredible. From the receptionist to the treatment service is first class. Dr. Oscar Nieves is an excellent professional with great medical skills and knowledge, but above all a great human being with great empathy and commitment to the needs of his patients. He is incredibly humble and compassionate and does everything on his power to find the cause that bring us to his office and offers the appropriate treatment so that we can return to normalcy. I definitely recommend Naples Community Injury Center.” – Ines P.
At Naples Community Injury Center, we understand everyone fights their own battle, so we don’t use a cookie-cutter plan on each patient. That’s why we make your treatment about you. We will tweak your plan as you go through treatment, listen to your concerns, and celebrate your breakthroughs to achieve the best results.
We Serve Patients in Marco Island and Throughout Southwest Florida
If you suffer from a neuromuscular disease in Marco Island, our doctors are ready to step in and help you enhance your quality of life with holistic healthcare. A member of our team is ready to take your call and help you schedule an appointment. Call Naples Community Injury Center today at (239) 631-5445 to get started.
