2024, the year of physical activity and sport as a Great National Cause, must also be the year of the Muscle.
Nearly 250 experts gathered at the first Assises du Muscle, organized on June 1, 2023 by the Institut de Myologie and the AFM-Téléthon, underlined the crucial role of muscle as a genuine public health issue. Today, less than 150 days before the Olympic and Paralympic Games, more than 40 personalities from a wide range of backgrounds are supporting around this appeal. Researchers, doctors, representatives of major institutions, the business world and the insurance industry, sports personalities… all are calling for the launch of a national, cross-disciplinary “Muscle Plan” to give muscle science and medicine the means to transform the lives of French people.
The “Muscle Plan” proposes answers to many of the major challenges facing France today, in particular the prevention of chronic pathologies (cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.), the health of the young and the independence of the elderly, health in the workplace, therapeutic innovation, the sustainability of the healthcare system and international recognition of the discipline.
For all these major challenges, myology, the science and medicine of muscle, because it catalyzes prevention and innovation, has the capacity to provide concrete answers:
- in the field 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 engage 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.
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.
