Over forty French personalities from a broad range of backgrounds are calling for the launch of a national, cross-disciplinary “Muscle Plan” to give muscle science and medicine the ressources to transform the lives of French people. This appeal follows on from the first Muscle Conferences, organized on June 1 at the Conseil économique, social et environnemental, on the initiative of the Institut de Myologie, which highlighted muscle as a genuine public health issue.
By interacting with numerous organs and biological mechanisms, our 600 muscles are a major determinant of our individual state of health: growth, regulation of body temperature, stress, cholesterol, reinforcement of the immune system, reduction of osteoporosis, prevention of breast and colon cancer relapses, … And because it catalyses prevention and innovation, muscle science and medicine – myology – has the capacity to provide concrete answers to many of the major challenges facing France today: prevention of chronic pathologies (cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.), health of the young and independence of the elderly, occupational health, sustainability of the healthcare system, therapeutic innovation, international recognition.
A “Muscle Plan” could propose concrete measures to meet these challenges. For example:
- in the area of prevention
- raise awareness of the vital role of muscle at every stage of life, and assess the muscular capital of every French person,
- ensuring that children and teenagers take part in regular, appropriate physical activity; and adults, by providing facilities in the workplace, hospitals and retirement homes to combat the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
- as part of the healthcare process
- provide information on the benefits of physical activity, and integrate it into the health-care pathway, so as to systematically prescribe or recommend it when necessary,
- integrate or reinforce adapted physical activities (APA) into care programs as soon as the patient’s condition allows, and enable their reimbursement in the case of chronic pathologies.
- in the field of research
- integrate trans-disciplinary teaching dedicated to muscle medicine – myology – into all health teaching courses, with the creation of dedicated training programs,
- recognize myology as a cross-disciplinary field and make it a priority area of research.
See all the proposals in the advocacy for a “Muscle Plan” on www.lemuscle.fr (in French)
In this special year of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, a national “Muscle” plan represents a unique opportunity to give this major event, for the first time, a strong scientific dimension and to leave a legacy of recognition for muscle science and medicine, structured teaching and increased research for the health of all.
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Save the date! 22-25 April – Myology 2024 – Palais des Congrès de Paris The AFM-Téléthon is organizing the 8th edition of its scientific congress dedicated to advances in the field of myology and neuromuscular diseases. Nearly 900 international experts (38 countries represented in 2022) will share their knowledge, present their work and the results of innovative therapeutic approaches in full expansion. For further information, visit www.Myology2024.org |
