Benefits of Exercising One Arm Revealed

Training one arm was found to improve strength and decrease muscle loss in the other arm, without even moving it, stated new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU).

The new findings challenged conventional rehabilitation methods and could improve outcomes for post-injury and stroke patients, said ECU's Professor Ken Nosaka in the School of Medical and Health Sciences.

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‘The new study findings help address the muscle wastage, loss of strength experienced in an immobilized arm after an injury.’

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"I think this could change the way we approach rehabilitation for people who have temporarily lost the use of one arm or one leg," Professor Nosaka said.

"By starting rehab and exercise in the uninjured limb right away, we can prevent muscle damage induced by exercise in the other limb and also build strength without moving it at all."

Study Details

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The study involved 30 participants who had one arm immobilized for eight hours a day for four weeks. The participants were split into three groups, with some performing no exercise, some a mix of eccentric and concentric exercise, and the rest performing eccentric exercise only.

Group who used a heavy dumbbell to perform the eccentric exercise on their active arm showed an increase in strength and decreased muscle wastage in their immobilized arm.

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"Participants who did eccentric exercise had the biggest increase in strength in both arms, so it has a very powerful cross-transfer effect," he said.

"This group also had just two per cent muscle wastage in their immobilised arm, compared with those who did no exercise who had a 28 per cent loss of muscle.

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"In the future, we hope to look at how eccentric exercise can help improve motor function, movement and fine muscle control, which is particularly important for stroke and rehabilitation patients," said Professor Nosaka.

Eccentric and Concentric Exercises

In eccentric exercises, the contracting muscle lengthens when lowering a dumbbell, sitting on a chair, or walking downstairs. In concentric exercises, the muscle shortens when lifting a dumbbell or walking upstairs.

Source-Medindia