Review Article

The Role of Physical Exercise in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Table 2

Characteristics of interventional studies examining the impact of exercise on IBD.

ReferenceSampleDisease typeInterventionDuration of exercise programOutcome

Robinson et al., 1998 [122]117 patients:
60 exercise
57 control
CDHome based low impact exercises program of increasing intensity focused on the hip and lumbar regionsTwice a week (at least 10 monthly), 12 months
Bone mineral density increased in compliant patients in the lumbar spine and the hip

D’Incà et al., 1999 [42]6 patients in remission
6 control
CDAcute exercise at 60% of VO2max (cycle ergometer) One hourExercise did not elicit subjective symptoms or changes in intestinal permeability and lipid peroxidation

Loudon et al., 1999 [38]12 patients with inactive or mildly active diseaseCDLow-intensity walking program subjects walked an average of 2.9 sessions/wk, at an average of 32.6 min/session, and for an average distance of 3.5 km/sessionA thrice weekly, 12 wk walking programStress diminished, physical health, general well-being, and quality of life improved without disease exacerbation

Elsenbruch et al., 2005 [139] 30 patients with inactive disease
30 control
UC60 h training program: stress management program, light exercise10 weeks;
6 h/week
Improvement in quality of life in patients with UC in remission, while no effects of therapy on clinical or physiological parameters were found

Ng et al., 2007 [39]16 patients with inactive disease
16 patients control
CDLow-intensity walking 30 min at 60% of maximum heart rate 3 times per week during 3 monthsImprovement in quality of life and reductions in CD symptoms

Ploeger et al., 2012 [44]15 pediatric patients in remission
15 controls
CDModerate intensity continuous exercise (MICE)
High intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE)
30 min of cycling at 50% of peak mechanical power (PMP) 6 bouts of 4 × 15-s of cycling at 100% PMPNo significant exacerbation of the disease or inflammatory cytokine responses in both types of exercise

Chan et al., 2014 [45] 918 IBD patients (54% CD and 46% UC)CD, UCUK online survey regarding exercise habits Regular exercise72% reported that exercise made them feel better, but 80% had to stop exercising temporarily or permanently at some point because of the severity of their symptoms