Moderate-intensity exercise may be both safe and beneficial for people with mitochondrial myopathy, a group of rare muscle diseases that includes thymidine kinase 2 deficiency (TK2d), according to a recent review published in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.
To find out if exercise is helpful and safe for people with mitochondrial myopathy, researchers looked at 15 studies involving 157 adult patients who followed exercise programs lasting between eight and 14 weeks, with three to five sessions per week.
Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, like cycling or walking, helped muscles to consume oxygen more efficiently, recover energy faster and better protect themselves from damage. Moderate-intensity resistance exercise, like light weightlifting, helped muscles grow stronger, activated the body’s natural muscle repair system, and reduced the number of poorly functioning muscle fibers. Doing both types of exercise together produced even greater benefits than either one alone.
Importantly, blood tests showed no signs of muscle damage after exercise, and the genetic mutations that cause mitochondrial myopathy did not worsen.
Although the evidence is encouraging, “larger controlled trials are needed to confirm long-term efficacy and to clarify potential risk profiles,” the review’s authors said.
Read more about TK2d treatment and care
The review concluded that the best exercise plan is not the same for everyone — it should be tailored to each patient’s specific type of mitochondrial myopathy to make sure it is both safe and effective.
“Clinicians should prioritize moderate-intensity aerobic exercise as the foundational intervention, gradually integrating resistance training depending on patient tolerance and mutation burden,” the review’s authors said.
They also note that safety monitoring is essential throughout any exercise program. This means regularly checking blood markers that can reveal whether muscles are under too much stress, while also watching for warning signs like muscle pain or dark-colored urine. Catching these early warning signs quickly allows doctors to adjust the exercise plan before any serious harm occurs.
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