Study Shows that Exercise Before Surgery Can Protect Muscles and Nerves

UVA’s Zhen Yan, PhD, a top expert on the cellular benefits of exercise, and his team are working to better understand how the body is damaged by the restoration of blood flow – known as ischemia reperfusion injury – and to find ways to improve outcomes for people who suffer it, including surgery and trauma patients and soldiers injured on the battlefield. They found that pre-injury exercise clearly reduced the damage to both muscle and nerve, but it did not significantly reduce the amount of oxidative stress. “We know exercise made the muscle and nerve tougher,” Yan said. “The protection is very clear.”  [Read more]