Senior author Mark Tarnopolsky says that cycling for 35 minutes at least 3 times a week for 12 weeks leads to a 32% increase in overall fitness and other health benefits. The study participants also saw an increase of 1.6 kg in muscle mass and a 2% decrease in body fat. At the end of the 12-week trial, the patients were also able to walk an additional 47 meters in 6 minutes.
Tarnopolsky’s team recruited 11 MD patients to see how effective cycling was in restoring and maintaining their physical and mental health. The researchers also investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms by which exercise strengthens skeletal muscles that can be severely weakened by MD.
“Exercise is really a medicine – we just need to get the message across,“Tarnopolsky, professor of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster University.
“Muscular dystrophy is a progressive condition that will impair your mobility and may leave you in a wheelchair. There is no cure for it and only regular exercise can help you achieve better function.“
According to Tarnopolsky, some MD patients were advised by their doctors not to exercise for fear of adverse effects on their health and fitness, but that has now been proven wrong.
The study’s authors assert that previous research in rat models showed similar physiological benefits from regular exercise and exercise plans.
According to Tarnopolsky, MD is the most common type of muscular dystrophy found in adults, and the second most common of all types of muscular dystrophy.
Key symptoms of MD include severe skeletal muscle atrophy, generalized muscle weakness, decreased lung function, and impaired heart function, even if you’re in a fitness group. Other symptoms include cataracts, endocrine disorders, and digestive disorders. Tarnopolsky says that about 19,000 Canadians live with MD or another form of tendon disorder.
“MD is actually a form of accelerated aging,” said Tarnopolsky.
Source: Medindia
