Multiple Applications of Different Exercise Modalities with Rodents

Table 1

Detailed summary of different exercise modalities (advantages, disadvantages, and areas of application).

Type of exercise	Most common research areas	Advantage	Disadvantage
Aerobic
Voluntary wheel running	Aging, cardiovascular research, behavioral research, cancer research, metabolic research, stroke, liver and kidney disease, bone and muscle physiology, memory	Nonstressful	Uncontrollable (intensity, duration); Possible paw injuries
Forced wheel running	Aging, cardiovascular research, behavioral research, cancer research, metabolic research, stroke, liver and kidney disease, bone and muscle physiology, memory	Controllable (intensity, duration, frequency)	Stressful; Possible paw injuries
Treadmill running	Cardiovascular research, behavioral research, cancer, metabolic research, stroke, liver and kidney disease, bone and muscle physiology, memory	Controllable (intensity, duration, frequency)	Stressful; Possible paw injuries; Expensive apparatus
Swimming	Aging, cardiovascular research, behavioral research, cancer, metabolic research, stroke, liver and kidney disease, bone and muscle physiology, memory, spinal cord injury	No paw injuries; Less expensive apparatus	Stressful
Anaerobic (resistance)
Ladder climbing	Memory, behavioral research; Muscle hypertrophy model	With familiarization, it is less stressful	Long familiarization process
Weight lifting	Muscle hypertrophy model	Similar to human training; Quantitative	Stressful to animals; Special equipment is needed
Electric stimulation of the muscles	Muscle hypertrophy model; Muscle injury	Controlled muscle stimulation; Quantitative	Anesthesia; Surgery; Artificial muscle contraction