Hope for MS Sufferers: Resistance Training May Slow Brain Atrophy by for Natural Society
Doctors usually advise people with multiple sclerosis (MS) not to exercise for fear that it could exacerbate the illness, but a recent study out of Denmark suggests that resistance training may slow down the progression of MS by slowing brain atrophy and, in some cases, enhancing brain volume. [1] [2]
More recent studies have shown that physical training can relieve many of the symptoms of MS, including 2 of the most telltale symptoms: fatigue and hindered mobility. [2]
Ulrik Dalgas, the study’s lead investigator and an associate professor in the department of public health at Aarhus University, said:
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“Over the past six years, we have been pursuing the idea that physical training has effects on more than just the symptoms, and this study provides the first indications that physical exercise may protect the nervous system against the disease.
For the past 15 years, we have known that physical exercise does not harm people with multiple sclerosis, but instead often has a positive impact on, for example, their ability to walk, their levels of fatigue, their muscle strength and their aerobic capacity, which has otherwise often deteriorated. But the fact that physical training also seems to have a protective effect on the brain in people with multiple sclerosis is new and important knowledge.”
For the study, Dalgas and a team of researchers followed 35 people with MS for 6 months. Half of the group engaged in resistance training, while the other half served as a control group, continuing to live their lives as they always had.
Participants underwent brain scans both before and at the conclusion of the study. Through these tests, the researchers observed that the volunteers who engaged in resistance training – including leg presses, knee extensions, and hamstring curls – had less brain shrinkage, compared with those in the control group. [3]
