Can a short bike ride help fibromyalgia patients build muscle?
Acute effects of physical exercise on the serum insulin-like growth factor system in women with fibromyalgia
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Even though women with fibromyalgia feel more pain and tiredness during exercise, their bodies still release the same amount of a muscle-building hormone (IGF-1) as healthy women after just 15 minutes of biking.
Surprising Findings
Women with fibromyalgia achieved the same IGF-1 increase while cycling at lower workloads than healthy controls.
It’s counterintuitive that someone in more pain and fatigue would produce the same anabolic hormone with less physical effort—suggesting their bodies are more efficient or sensitive.
Practical Takeaways
Start with 15 minutes of moderate cycling (RPE 12–13) 3x/week—even if you feel pain, your body is still getting the muscle-repairing hormone boost.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Even though women with fibromyalgia feel more pain and tiredness during exercise, their bodies still release the same amount of a muscle-building hormone (IGF-1) as healthy women after just 15 minutes of biking.
Surprising Findings
Women with fibromyalgia achieved the same IGF-1 increase while cycling at lower workloads than healthy controls.
It’s counterintuitive that someone in more pain and fatigue would produce the same anabolic hormone with less physical effort—suggesting their bodies are more efficient or sensitive.
Practical Takeaways
Start with 15 minutes of moderate cycling (RPE 12–13) 3x/week—even if you feel pain, your body is still getting the muscle-repairing hormone boost.
Publication
Journal
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
Year
2017
Authors
K. Mannerkorpi, K. Landin-Wilhelmsen, A. Larsson, Å. Cider, Olivia Arodell, J. Bjersing
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Claims (6)
Women with fibromyalgia report more pain and fatigue during intense exercise than women without the condition, even though both groups show similar rises in a blood protein called IGF-1, suggesting that how the body responds chemically doesn't always match how much discomfort a person feels.
In women with fibromyalgia, a 15-minute session of moderate exercise raises levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in the blood without changing markers of inflammation like CRP or IL-8, suggesting these hormonal changes happen without involvement of inflammatory processes.
When muscles are strongly activated during physical exercise, the body produces more insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a protein involved in tissue growth and repair.
A 15-minute moderate cycling workout raises levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the blood by about 11 ng/mL in women with fibromyalgia, and the increase is similar to that seen in women without fibromyalgia.
Women with fibromyalgia show the same short-term rise in two specific blood proteins (IGF-1 and IGFBP-3) during exercise as healthy women, even though they exercise at lower intensities.