Elastic band resistance combined with modified Thai yoga exercise to alleviate oxidative stress and airway inflammation in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the combi-nation of elastic band resistance exercise (EBRE) with modified Thai yoga on the alleviation of blood glucose and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Forty-two patients with T2DM were enrolled and allocated to an exercise or control group (n=21/group). The exer-cise group participated in EBRE combination with modified Thai yoga for 40 min, 5 days/wk, for 12 consecutive weeks. Blood glucose, oxida-tive stress markers, antioxidants, pulmonary function, respiratory mus-cle strength, and airway inflammation were measured before and after the 12 weeks. The results showed that the exercise group had a signifi-cant reduction in fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin. More-over, T2DM patients in the exercise group showed a significant reduc-tion in plasma malondialdehyde, while superoxide dismutase and cata-lase were significantly increased. The exercise group also observed a significant improvement in pulmonary function; forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV₁/FVC, peak ex-piratory flow, and forced midexpiratory flow as well as respiratory mus-cle strength. Interestingly, the combination of EBRE with modified Thai yoga markedly improved airway inflammation through the reduction in fractional exhaled nitric oxide. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the combination of EBRE with modified Thai yoga improves blood glu-cose, oxidative stress, antioxidants, pulmonary function, respiratory mus-cle strength, and airway inflammation in T2DM patients. Hence, it could be considered as a possible exercise program for T2DM patients.