T.P.48 The use of standard and complementary therapies in DMD and BMD

Abstract

<h2>Abstract</h2> The Neuromuscular Clinic at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia manages the care of children and adolescents with a variety of neuromuscular conditions, including approximately 125 subjects with Duchenne or Becker Muscular Dystrophy (DMD/BMD). Increasingly families are reporting their use of complementary therapies. These include massage, osteopathy, chiropractic manipulation and nutritional supplements. In consultation with our physiotherapists and dietician, an online questionnaire has been developed to survey families on their use of additional mainstream allied health therapies, complementary therapies, structured physical activities and nutritional supplements. From this information we hope to understand families' use of mainstream and alternative therapies and better inform our clinical practice. From the information we obtain we expect that we may be able to develop future studies to investigate the relevance of these therapies for subjects with DMD/BMD.