Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease does not impair responses to resistance training

Area of Science:

• Exercise physiology
• Pulmonary rehabilitation
• Muscle biology

Background:

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is linked to accelerated muscle wasting and anabolic resistance.
• This resistance is thought to impair adaptation to exercise training, but remains understudied.
• Investigating COPD's impact on exercise response is crucial for effective rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of resistance training on muscle health and function in COPD patients.
• To compare the responsiveness of COPD patients to resistance training versus healthy individuals.
• To explore the underlying muscle biology changes in response to exercise.

Main Methods:

• 20 COPD patients (GOLD II-III) and 58 healthy controls underwent 13 weeks of whole-body resistance training.
• Training involved supervised sessions twice weekly, with unilateral leg exercises at high-load (10RM) and low-load (30RM).
• Measurements included muscle strength, endurance, mass, quality, vastus lateralis muscle biology (fiber characteristics, transcriptome), and health variables.

Main Results:

• COPD patients showed significant improvements in muscle strength (15±8%), mass (7±5%), quality (8±8%), and endurance (26±12%/8±9%).
• These improvements in COPD patients were comparable to or exceeded those in healthy controls.
• Lower FEV1 predicted in COPD was associated with greater muscle mass and strength gains, alongside similar muscle biology adaptations.

Conclusions:

• COPD patients exhibit significant responsiveness to resistance training, contrary to expectations of impaired adaptation.
• Resistance training is a potent intervention that can alleviate COPD-related pathophysiologies.
• Exercise interventions should be considered for managing muscle decline in COPD.