Effect of voluntary exercise on resistance to trauma in rats

To investigate the effect of voluntary exercise on the tolerance to trauma, female rats kept in cages with running wheels for 3-7 weeks (exercise group) were subjected to Noble-Collip drum trauma and compared to rats kept in cages without running wheels for the same period (sedentary group). Both food consumption and weight gain were greater in the exercise group than in the sedentary group. Mortality from the drumming of 600 revolutions was significantly decreased in rats kept in cages with running wheels for 5 weeks or 7 weeks but not in rats kept for only 3 weeks. Mortality from the drumming of 450 revolutions and of 500 revolutions was also significantly lower in the exercising rats. These results indicated that voluntarily exercising rats showed increased resistance to trauma as compared to rats kept under the sedentary condition.