# The effect of exercise intervention on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

## TL;DR

This study reviews how exercise affects amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients, finding that it improves some functions but not others.

## Contribution

A systematic review and meta-analysis of exercise interventions in ALS, identifying specific benefits and limitations.

## Key findings

- Exercise improves overall function, walking test distance, and maximum expiratory pressure in ALS patients.
- Resistance exercise is most effective for functional improvement, while aerobic exercise helps with lung capacity.
- No significant effects on fatigue, inspiratory pressure, or peak expiratory flow were observed.

## Abstract

Quantitative evaluation of the effect of exercise intervention in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The CNKI, WOS, PubMed, and Scopus databases were searched by computer, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise intervention in ALS were screened out according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the PICOS principle. Stata 12.0 software was used for statistical analysis.

A total of 12 RCTs including 430 participants were included. Meta-analysis results show that exercise intervention can significantly improve the overall function, walking test (WT) distance and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) of ALS patients (p < 0.05). However, exercise interventions did not show significant effects on fatigue, maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), forced vital capacity (FVC), and peak expiratory flow (PEF) in ALS patients (p > 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that resistance exercise is the most effective intervention for improving the function of ALS patients, while aerobic exercise is the most effective intervention for improving FVC in ALS patients.

Exercise intervention in ALS has a positive effect, but due to the small number of included studies and possible heterogeneity, risk of bias and sensitivity issues, further research is needed.