Impact, resistance training improves bone density, muscle function in Crohn’s
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Six months of combined impact and resistance training improved bone mineral density and muscle function in adults with Crohn’s disease, according to study results.
Garry A Tew, PhD, of the department of sport, exercise and rehabilitation at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote that patients with CD have a higher risk for osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures compared with the general population.
“Physical activity and exercise are important determinants of bone health,” they wrote. “Empirical evidence on the effects of exercise in CD is sparse, with only a handful of intervention studies, all of which have focused on modes of exercise that are sub-optimal for improving bone health.”
Researchers randomly assigned patients with CD to undergo 6 months of either combined impact and resistance training (n = 23) or normal care (n = 24). The exercise training included three 60-minute sessions per week and gradual tapering from supervision to self-management.
The primary outcome of the study was bone mineral density determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and muscle function measured by upper and lower limb strength and endurance at 6 months.
Investigators found that after 6 months, bone mineral density in the lumbar spine was higher among patients who were in the exercise group (adjusted mean difference 0.036 g/cm2; 95% CI 0.024-0.04). The superiority among the exercise group for bone density in the femoral neck and greater trochanter were not significant.
Patients in the exercise group had superior values for all muscle function outcomes (P < .001) and lower fatigue severity (P = .005).
“A 6-month combined impact and resistance training program improved bone mineral density and muscle function in adults with CD,” Tew and colleagues wrote. “The intervention appears a suitable model of exercise for reducing the future risk of osteoporotic fractures and physical disability in this increased-risk population.”
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