Study shows which diseases physical exercise can effectively treat

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; find out more at the end.

In a new, unpublished study recently published in The Lancet, Researchers have gathered the most evidence on physical exercise for 45 chronic diseases. Find out what diseases are and a recently discovered mechanism that promotes the positive effects of exercise on our body.

Which diseases does exercise have an effect on and which does not?

Evidence supporting the effect of exercise was identified in 25 diseases, was unclear in 13 diseases and in one suggested no effect. The evidence on the positive effect of physical exercise is on diseases:

Atrial fibrillation;
Insanity;
Prostate disorders;
Inflammatory bowel disease;
Bronchiectasis;
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease);
Arthritis;
Hypertension;
Problems with alcohol;

In addition to: coronary heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, cancer, painful conditions, psychoactive substance abuse, osteoporosis, depression, long COVID, multiple sclerosis, connective tissue disease, peripheral vascular disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, stroke and disease chronic kidney disease.

According to the study published by the magazine The Lancet, physical exercise can help in the treatment of some chronic diseases.Source: Getty Images

According to the study, the evidence is still unclear for 13 diseases: anemia, anorexia, anxiety, constipation, diabetes mellitus, migraine, endometriosis, epilepsy, schizophrenia, glaucoma, hepatitis, chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome. For chronic liver disease, exercise has shown no effect. Still, there is no evidence of the effects of exercise on diseases: chronic sinusitis, diverticulosis, Menière’s disease, psoriasis, thyroid disease and indigestion..

How is exercise good for your health?

We’ve known for some time that exercise is good for our health. Scientific efforts are now focused on finding out how this occurs, that is, the mechanisms.

There are many processes that range from reducing inflammation to repairing and maintaining cells. Exercise also stimulates cells to release signaling molecules that carry a series of messages between organs and tissues, which is called crosstalk: from muscle cells to the immune and cardiovascular systems and also to the brain.

These molecules were recently called exercins – substances released from muscle contraction and are released to act in the body. The molecular choreography that occurs from exercise is exuberant.

Lactate, a substance that was previously seen as a villain and wrongly blamed for muscle pain, is a recognized exercine that facilitates communication between muscles and brain. It is produced in the muscles, travels through the bloodstream to the brain and unlike other substances, it can cross the blood-brain barrier.

In the brain, through several chemical reactions, lactate can activate the expression of BNDF in the hippocampus, which is a growth factor for brain health. When we carried out a survey with CrossFit practitioners, we observed an increase in BNDF levels after effort, as well as a positive relationship with the increase in lactate.

Learn more clearly about the choreography of molecules that occurs in the body through exercise may reveal new therapeutic targets for potential drugs for diseases.

The multisystemic effects of exercise-induced exercises are reasons why exercise will probably not be completely mimicked in capsule form through “exercise pills.”

What if a pill combined the effects of exercise?

Is it possible to mimic the effects of physical exercise in a capsule?Source: Getty Images

Daisy Motta, a scholar in the field, states that it would be even noble if we were able to isolate a substance in a capsule that would be good for a person who cannot exercise, but today the media publicizes the possibility of a pill that simulates the effects of exercise, the each discovery of a new substance, made in isolation.

“People are excited about this prospect, especially those who haven’t yet found a sport they like to practice. However, we will never be able to make this pill, due to the complexity of the effects of exercise”, says the researcher.

Muscles are an endocrine organ

Science has overcome the view of muscle as just an aesthetic item of the body to elect it as a giant endocrine organ, which characterizes one of the greatest recent scientific advances in human biology.

There is a current focus on exercise, demonstrated by the publication of a new issue of the famous scientific magazine Nature, in which we have on the cover the phrase “Effects of exercise – Mapping the molecular changes induced by resistance training” and the image of a mouse running on a wheel.

Cover of the latest issue of Nature with the theme of physical exerciseSource: Nature

Even for diseases for which exercise does not directly have a proven effect, it is important to highlight exercise as a behavior that can improve the general quality of life of people, with or without diseases.

We need to talk more about physical exercise. Furthermore, generate more opportunities for everyone to move around, with good experiences. They are fundamental ingredients for wanting to repeat what was donebecause only then can we reap the benefits of what was planted in each day of physical exercise practiced.

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Fábio Dominski He has a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Sports and Exercise Psychology Laboratory (LAPE / UDESC). He does scientific dissemination on social media is at podcast available on Spotify. Author of the book Physical Exercise and Science – Facts and Myths.