Chronic inflammatory diseases often lead to muscle wasting and weakness. This is especially clear in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or sarcopenia (the age-related loss of muscle mass). A recent study carried out on cultured artificial muscles suggests that, in an exercise situation, human muscle has an innate capacity to counter chronic inflammation.
The context: what is chronic inflammation
Inflammation is not good or bad in itself. It is an innate reaction of the body to trauma or an infectious attack: its purpose is to eliminate the agent and rebuild the damaged tissue.
The problem arises when the immune system overreacts (as in the “cytokine storms” described in some severe cases of COVID-19) or when the inflammatory response persists over time. This is low-grade chronic inflammation — the kind seen in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, certain autoimmune diseases and age-related processes.
Among the molecules involved in this process, interferon-gamma is one of the most studied as a pro-inflammatory marker linked to muscle wasting and dysfunction.
The Duke study (Science Advances, 2021)
Published in January 2021 in the journal Science Advances, a team from Duke University (United States) achieved something unusual: they grew functional, contractile human skeletal muscle in a petri dish.
On these artificial muscles, the researchers applied:
- A high dose of interferon-gamma for 7 days — to simulate the effect of sustained chronic inflammation.
- The same interferon-gamma, but combined with a simulated exercise regime — stimulating the muscle through electrodes.
The result
When the muscle received only interferon-gamma, the expected happened: it shrank in size and lost strength.
When it received interferon-gamma plus simulated exercise, the researchers observed not only muscle growth (as in previous studies), but something more striking: exercise almost entirely prevented the effects of chronic inflammation.
Looking more closely at the mechanism, they showed that exercise inhibited a specific molecular pathway within the muscle cells. Interestingly, two drugs commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis — tofacitinib and baricitinib — block exactly that same pathway, with a comparable anti-inflammatory effect.
“These results demonstrate how valuable lab-grown human muscle can be for discovering new disease mechanisms and possible treatments. There is a hypothesis that optimal levels and regimes of exercise might counter chronic inflammation without overloading the cells. Perhaps, with our engineered muscles, we can end up supporting that hypothesis.”
— Nenad Bursac, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University.
Why it matters in clinic
This study brings mechanistic evidence — at the cellular level — for something that has been observed in clinic for decades: regular movement is one of the pillars of the lifestyle that supports good functioning of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.
In chiropractic practice, the vertebral adjustment works on the mechanical function of the spine and local interference with the nervous system. Exercise, as a complement, acts on the muscle tissue and metabolic system surrounding that spine. They are two different levers that reinforce each other.
At Tantae, after the adjustment, Dimitri often recommends specific movement guidance (not generic physiotherapy programmes but specific indications tailored to each case) so that chiropractic care has favourable ground on which to settle.
In Spain
Chiropractic is legal in Spain but not officially regulated as a healthcare profession. Dimitri de Borodaewsky is a member of the AEQ (Asociación Española de Quiropráctica) with the number 1373 and graduated from the Madrid College of Chiropractic (MCC) in 2015.
If you want to learn how to integrate chiropractic care with your movement routine, at Tantae Quiropràctic (Vilanova i la Geltrú) you can book your first visit by picking a day and time on the online calendar.
Reference: Nenad Bursac et al., Science Advances, January 2021. Duke University.