Exercise and Nutrition for Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT)

The Importance of Exercise and Physical Activity for People with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT)

Although there is no cure for CMT at the present time, the right amount and types of exercise can greatly improve the life and function of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) patients. The general advice for patients seeking assistance is to look first for the least invasive way to correct their problems.

The right amount and types of exercise are critical to CMT. It is important for people with CMT to maintain what movement, muscle strength and flexibility they have, but it is impossible to build up muscles already atrophied by CMT (neurogenic atrophy), so the best program works on strengthening unaffected muscles that can help do the work of those that have atrophied because of CMT. Hence, physical therapy and moderate activity are recommended. Overexertion, however, should be avoided. A physical therapist can design an exercise program that fits a patient’s personal strengths and flexibility. Exercises like the following that do not put undue stress on the joints are strongly recommended:

• Swimming
• Walking with balance walking poles – learn how to this is beneficial for CMT.
• Exercises you can do at home – for examples, watch exercise videos with Rebekah Lee, a physiotherapist living with CMT.
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Tai chi

CMTA Exercise Webinars

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Nutrition Considerations and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT)

Nutrition and CMT Webinars

Are vitamins, antioxidants, and supplements good or bad for CMT?

There is little research on the effects of vitamins on CMT.

Alpha Lipoic Acid

Alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant that has been studied mostly in patients with diabetes. There is some objective evidence that it reduces painful symptoms, but it is not clear if it prevents nerve damage. The agent has not been studied in CMT, to our knowledge, and it is important to know that the mechanisms of nerve injury differ between diabetes and CMT.

Amino Acids

L-histidine is an essential amino acid that is supplied in adequate amounts in any good diet. To our knowledge, there are no studies using L-histidine in patients with neuropathies and none in hereditary neuropathies.

B Vitamins

Taking too much B6 is bad. Other than B6, the B vitamins have no known risk. There is no known association between biotin and neuropathy. The only B vitamin clearly known to cause neuropathy from excessive use is pyridoxine (B6). However, all vitamins should be taken in conventional doses unless otherwise directed.

Collagen Peptides

As far as we know, collagen peptides should not pose a problem.

D Vitamins

There is no evidence that Vitamin D helps alleviate the symptoms of CMT. However, if you are Vitamin D deficient, discuss supplementation with your doctor.

There is no known risk of taking other vitamins as long as you don’t take megadoses of these supplements. A megadose is 10 times or more the recommended daily amount.

Lecithin Supplements

In August 2018, it was reported that the dietary supplement lecithin improved the myelination of diseased Schwann cells. The study showed a modest improvement in the rat model of CMT1A but has not yet been duplicated.

Ultimately, if you choose to take a lecithin supplement, you would be wise to consult your doctor in order to establish a safe dosage. Care should be taken if there are any allergies to eggs or soy, as these are often sources of lecithin supplements.

Herbal Supplements

We know of no suspicious or theoretical problems with magnesium citrate or calcium lactate. There were a few reports of sudden neuropathy with St. John’s Wort in the late 90s, but very little since then. Podophyllin resin is clearly neurotoxic and is contained in certain roots used in Chinese herbal remedies, but it hasn’t been used in Western supplements since the 1980s. One problem is that the full ingredient list in some herbal supplements is not available, accurate or required.

Page Last Updated: November 13, 2024