Can Strength Training Help Clients With Chronic Conditions?

Building muscle offers many benefits. Increased muscular strength makes everyday activities easier. Grocery bags don’t feel as heavy. Kids and grandkids are easier to pick up.

Toned muscle also creates a firmer physique. This appeals to clients interested in looking their best. They want to feel comfortable with their bodies. Or they’re trying to boost their self-confidence.

But there’s another reason to add resistance exercise to your workout routine. It has to do with the way this training impacts chronic disease.

Connection Between Muscle Mass and Chronic Disease

Studies report that chronic disease and muscle decline go hand in hand. One explanation is that, in disease, oxidant levels often exceed antioxidants. This creates oxidative stress. The stress leads to cell and tissue damage. So, skeletal muscle is affected. 

Another explanation is that certain health conditions degrade muscle protein. Others reduce muscle protein synthesis. Muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis are two diseases linked with muscle wasting. Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is another. Research shows that resistance exercise can help counteract this effect. 

Resistance Training, Body Weight, and Chronic Illness

Obesity is also associated with chronic health issues. It contributes to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and more. Many times, aerobic exercise is recommended to reduce weight. But lifting weights assists with weight loss too. 

The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn throughout the day. This is added to the calories burned during regular strength training workouts. That makes this form of physical activity helpful in reducing obesity. Reduce obesity and you can reduce your chronic disease risk.

Can Strength Training Improve Chronic Conditions? Here’s the Research

Even if these resistance training benefits make sense, some clients may still be skeptical. They may also wonder if muscle strength and size are linked to their specific disease. So, let’s take a look at some of the research.

High Blood Pressure

Almost one-half of adults have hypertension. This is when blood pressure is 130/80 or higher. Hypertension increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

A 2016 study involved 25 older women with high blood pressure. Some did strength training and the rest served as a control. After 10 weeks, the strength training group reduced their blood pressure. They also reduced their levels of oxidative stress. Remember that oxidative stress contributes to muscle loss.

A 2018 study looked at men instead. It found that systolic and diabolic blood pressure reduced after strength training. This study also suggested 90-second rest intervals between each exercise and set. (Resting for only 40 seconds increased cardiac stress.)

Heart Disease

What’s the leading cause of death in the U.S.? Heart disease. It takes a life every 36 seconds. And it accounts for one-quarter of all reported deaths.

A 2019 study says that avoiding exercise when you have heart disease isn’t the best advice. Why? Greater musculoskeletal fitness can improve respiratory function. At least for patients with congenital heart disease. Progressive resistance training improved fitness just as good as aerobic exercise.

Another 2019 study shares that strength training may help people with cardiovascular disease. It also compared high-intensity and low-intensity strength training. Which provided better results while still being safe? High-intensity strength training. 

Diabetes 

More than 37 million people have diabetes. Diabetes is when the body can’t make or use insulin as well as it should. This causes blood sugar levels to rise. Type 2 diabetes is the most common, representing 90-95% of the cases.

A 2016 study involved 22 sedentary middle-aged men. Each did 12 weeks of muscle strengthening exercise. This training improved their insulin sensitivity. It also improved their body composition and fat distribution. 

A 2012 study found similar results. It concluded that strength training helps reduce insulin resistance. Compared to aerobic exercise, it was better at increasing muscle glucose uptake.

Metabolic Syndrome

Between 22-30% of people have metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors. These factors are associated with increased disease risk.

A 2012 review supports strength training for metabolic syndrome. It works by reducing triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are one of the factors for diagnosing this syndrome. 

A 2014 study found similar positive results. It added that resistance training combined with aerobic exercise is best. Exercise efficiency improved with strength training. So did time-to-exhaustion and VO2 peak.

Arthritis

More than one in five adults have arthritis. The most common type is osteoarthritis. Other types include rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and lupus.

A 2014 review looked at people with knee osteoarthritis. It concluded that strength training can reduce pain and improve function. A 2019 meta-analysis reviewed osteoarthritis in general. It found that muscle strength exercise training increased lean mass and muscle size.

A 2011 study followed people with rheumatoid arthritis for three years. Those who engaged in progressive resistance training stayed leaner than the control. They also retained most of their walking speed gains.

Cancer

Roughly 1.8 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer every year. Breast cancer is the most common. This is followed by lung, prostate, colon, and skin cancer. Cancer treatment can involve chemotherapy, radiation, or hormone therapy. Research suggests that strength training may help as well.

A 2016 systematic review looked at 39 different studies. Each included strength training with cancer treatment. Patients improved their strength 20-50%. They also improved their physical function.

A 2018 study involved breast cancer patients. Those engaging in strength training increased their physical performance. They even improved their quality of life.

Alzheimer’s Disease

One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Sadly, this chronic disease is projected to more than double by the year 2050.

A 2015 study suggests that resistance training may help. It works by reducing the oxidative stress that contributes to cognitive decline. It also improves cognitive performance. It does this by enhancing certain hormones.

Additional research notes that Alzheimer’s is inversely related to muscle mass and muscle strength. One example is a 2009 study. It reports that for every unit of increase in muscle strength, Alzheimer’s risk decreases 43%.

Strength Training vs. Aerobic Exercise: Which Is Better for Chronic Disease?

Even more studies have connected aerobic exercise with reduced chronic disease risk. So, which is best: weight training or aerobic training?

According to a 2019 review, increasing physical activity, in general, is most important. This exercise should be regular, preferably daily. This is good news for clients who prefer aerobic activity over weight lifting. 

Does that mean that these clients don’t need to engage in resistance training too? Not exactly. This type of workout still offers other benefits. It increases muscle fiber strength. It also improves bone density. That makes it as important as an exercise that boosts heart rate.

Strength Training with a Chronic Condition

What if you have a client with a chronic illness? Before creating an exercise program, make sure they talk with their doctor. They can give insight into what exercises can help. They can also offer guidance about any strength training exercise to avoid.

Once the client has their approval, you can devise a workout program. Include exercises that can help them meet their goals. Begin incorporating strength exercise slowly. Pay attention to how their body reacts. Make changes if necessary. If their condition worsens, have them stop exercising. Their doctor may be able to make different suggestions.

If they’re new to working out, focus more on regular exercise than strength gains. This will help them develop an exercise habit. Include moves that work each muscle group (unless their doctor suggests otherwise). This helps avoid muscle imbalance. It also improves full-body strength.

Want to learn additional ways to help clients with chronic pain? ISSA offers Health Coach certification. As an ISSA Health Coach, you'll gain the skills you need to work with clients who require an expert in health, psychology and fitness - because these clients need it all to reach their goals. You will provide essential training to help them overcome struggles that are leading to a lack of goal achievement, motivation, or behavior change - and ultimately, help them live their best and healthiest life.

References

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