Effects of a six-week endurance weight training program on bioelectrical activity of muscles and functional tests in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common metabolic disease associated with pathophysiological changes in the neuromuscular system. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a 6-week endurance training program on muscle strength, electrophysiological parameters, and functional activities in T2DM patients. Methods. The study period was divided into 6 weeks without training and 6 weeks with training. Twelve T2DM patients participated in this study. During the training period, the same T2DM patients went through an endurance training program. The assessment process included measurement of muscle strength, surface electromyography (SEMG) recording, and functional tests. Twelve healthy individuals were evaluated to compare their data with the T2DM patients. Results. The results showed that the muscle strength and the amplitudes of the SEMG signals of T2DM patients were lower than those of the healthy subjects. The bioelectric activity of T2DM patients increased after six weeks of the endurance training program. The functional tests showed significant improvement after the endurance training program in T2DM patients, while no significant difference was observed between the T2DM and healthy subjects. Conclusions. The short-term endurance-training program for lower limb muscles increased muscle strength and SEMG amplitudes of the knee extensor and flexor muscles and improved functional tests in T2DM patients, which may be attributed to neural adaptation after the endurance-training program.