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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
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Improving Strength, Power, Muscle Aerobic Capacity, and Glucose Tolerance through Short-term Progressive Strength Training Among Elderly People
Published on: July 5, 2017
Strength training and aerobic exercise training for muscle disease
Nicoline Bm Voet1, Elly L van der Kooi, Ingrid I Riphagen
1Department of Rehabilitation, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen Centre for Evidence Based Practice, Huispost 898, P.O. Box 9101, Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands, 6500 HB.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|January 22, 2010
Summary
Exercise programs like strength training and aerobic exercise may improve muscle and heart function in individuals with muscle diseases. While generally safe, evidence for significant benefits in myotonic dystrophy and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is limited, but aerobic exercise shows promise for endurance in mitochondrial myopathy.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Exercise Physiology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Muscle diseases can lead to deconditioning and loss of function.
- Exercise interventions, including strength training and aerobic exercise, are potential strategies to mitigate these effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of strength training and aerobic exercise in individuals diagnosed with muscle diseases.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials.
- Searched multiple databases including Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL.
- Included trials of at least 10 weeks duration comparing exercise to no training.
Main Results:
- Three trials involving 121 participants were included.
- Strength training showed no significant benefit in myotonic dystrophy and limited improvement in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
- Combined aerobic and strength training improved submaximal endurance in mitochondrial myopathy.
Conclusions:
- Moderate-intensity strength training is safe but lacks sufficient evidence of efficacy for myotonic dystrophy and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
- Aerobic exercise combined with strength training appears safe and beneficial for endurance in mitochondrial myopathy.
- Further research is needed due to limitations in study designs for other muscle diseases.
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