Ten-week strength training improved dynamic muscle endurance by 39.3% in shoulder flexion and 26.7% in heel rise in Fontan patients but did not reduce fatigue.
Does a ten-week strength training intervention improve dynamic muscle endurance and fatigue in adults with Fontan circulation compared to healthy controls?
A 10-week strength training program safely improves dynamic muscle function in adults with Fontan circulation to a similar degree as healthy controls, though it does not significantly reduce perceived fatigue.
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
Abstract Background Impaired dynamic muscle function and high prevalence of fatigue is common in patients with Fontan circulation. The knowledge regarding the effects of strength training on dynamic muscle endurance and fatigue is limited. Purpose To investigate the effects of strength training on dynamic muscle endurance and fatigue in patients with Fontan circulation compared to healthy controls. Methods In this pilot non-randomised controlled trial, nine patients with Fontan and nine age- and sex matched healthy controls (median age 26.1 years IQR:24.5-31.9, 56% men) performed a ten-week strength training intervention. Pre and post intervention, the dynamic muscle endurance was tested in shoulder flexion and heel rise, and the maximal number of performed repetitions was registered. Also, fatigue was measured using the questionnaire Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20). Wilcoxon Signed Rank-test was used for within-group analyses and Mann Whitney U-test was used for between-group analyses. Results Both patients and controls increased their number of performed shoulder flexions post intervention (+39.3% IQR: 18.9-69.7, p=0.008 and +20.1% IQR: 7.9-54.8, p=0.02). Also, the patients increased their number of performed heel raises (+26.7% IQR: 17.5-58.1, p=0.008). No differences were found when comparing the change post intervention between patients and controls (shoulder flexion p=0.3, heel rise p=0.4). However, only the control subjects reported on a lower levels of perceived fatigue post intervention (-19.4% IQR-28.7- -10.5p=0.01). Although, between-group analyses showed no differences in the change of fatigue-scoring between patients and controls post intervention (p=0.2). No adverse events occurred. Conclusion Strength training is safe and improves dynamic muscle function in patients with Fontan circulation on comparable levels to controls. However, the patients with Fontan circulation did not lower their fatigue score post intervention.
Wikner et al. (Sat,) reported a other. Ten-week strength training improved dynamic muscle endurance by 39.3% in shoulder flexion and 26.7% in heel rise in Fontan patients but did not reduce fatigue.