Leg exercise is critical to brain and nervous system health

[Judi Lynn]

In a new take on the exercise truism 'use it, or lose it,' researchers show neurological health is an interactive relationship with our muscles and our world
Date:
May 23, 2018
Source:
Frontiers

Groundbreaking research shows that neurological health depends as much on signals sent by the body's large, leg muscles to the brain as it does on directives from the brain to the muscles. Published today in Frontiers in Neuroscience, the study fundamentally alters brain and nervous system medicine -- giving doctors new clues as to why patients with motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and other neurological diseases often rapidly decline when their movement becomes limited.

"Our study supports the notion that people who are unable to do load-bearing exercises -- such as patients who are bed-ridden, or even astronauts on extended travel -- not only lose muscle mass, but their body chemistry is altered at the cellular level and even their nervous system is adversely impacted," says Dr. Raffaella Adami from the Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.

The study involved restricting mice from using their hind legs, but not their front legs, over a period of 28 days. The mice continued to eat and groom normally and did not exhibit stress. At the end of the trial, the researchers examined an area of the brain called the sub-ventricular zone, which in many mammals has the role of maintaining nerve cell health. It is also the area where neural stem cells produce new neurons.

Limiting physical activity decreased the number of neural stem cells by 70 percent compared to a control group of mice, which were allowed to roam. Furthermore, both neurons and oligodendrocytes -- specialized cells that support and insulate nerve cells -- didn't fully mature when exercise was severely reduced.

More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523080214.htm

[quartz007]

1. I have known this instinctively!

I have benefited from including 10-12 miles walks every week.
No strokes, no neurological problems, no heart attacks, no aches or pains in legs or knees or hip joints. And I will be 80 in a couple of years.

[donco]

2. I guess I'll celebrate

my 82 nd birthday next December 12 th with three sets of 225-pound squats.

[quartz007]

3. Exercise is the least prescribed Medicine by doctors

while it is the best preventive medicine on earth.

[ret5hd]

4. 5-15 miles walking a day for me.

At least 5 days a week, usually 6.

Anywhere from 50-1200 feet of vertical climb, depending on my choice if route/trail.

On edit: Almost always with a 25-30 lb pack.