Regular Exercise Helps Suppress Inflammation

Research from Ohio State University has found that regular exercise suppresses local and systemic inflammation. The findings from the in vivo study were recently presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014).

“As the inflammatory process in rheumatic diseases is a major cause of disability, we are excited to uncover the process by which exercise works on a molecular level to decrease this inflammation. Our results show the benefits that exercise could have in decreasing the great burden of rheumatic diseases. They also highlight the need for frequent exercise in order to create clinically significant results, ” said Dr. Nicholas Young in the June 12, 2014 news release. Dr. Young was the presenting author from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio.

Working with mice, the researchers looked at the regulation and activation of NF-kB, a protein complex that controls many genes involved in inflammation. The team used lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to create an inflammatory response in the mice before and after exercise. The researchers indicate finding a strong systemic and local inflammatory response upon injection of LPS, which was strongest at two hours post-injection.

As noted in the news release, “NF-kB activation was seen as a result of the LPS and was detected in lymphatic tissues throughout the mouse. In those groups where mice were exercised pre- and post-LPS injection, the NF-kB activation was significantly inhibited in whole-body systemic analysis. The effect of exercise on the inhibition of NF-kB activation was identified as a transient effect, lasting only 24 hours after exercise. The role of exercise in inhibiting NF-kB activation was linked to the suppression of multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are produced by a wide range of cells including macrophages and are involved in cell signaling.”

Dr. Young told OTW, “Since rehabilitation plays a significant role in the recovery of patients following orthopedic surgery, the effects of exercise over inflammation are a tremendously important influence to consider. Our results indicate that moderate levels of exercise on a daily basis can function as a systemic biological response modifier to regulate inflammation. In an acute model of inflammation, our data showed that a moderate daily exercise regimen suppressed the induction of inflammation stimulated by bacterial components, but that these results were transient and lost after 24 hours. Considering that epidemiological data suggests that regular exercise translates to a decreased prevalence of infectious disease and is efficacious in patient rehabilitation following surgery, our results suggest that exercise modulates the immune system to optimize inflammatory responses and that the greatest benefits may be observed in rehabilitation following orthopedic surgery with daily, moderate exercise. Importantly, this immuno-optimization is a result of daily moderate exercise; exhaustive or excessive exercise can be detrimental to immune system regulation. Thus, the exercise regimen prescribed in rehabilitation following surgery must be individually determined based on the age, activity level, and type of surgery for each patient.”