Soccer (football) good for diabetic heart
A new study published in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, investigated the effects of soccer training, consisting of small-sided games (5 v/s 5), on 21 men with type 2 diabetes, aged 37-60 years.
The study from the Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, demonstrates that soccer training improves heart function, reduces blood pressure and elevates exercise capacity in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Soccer training also reduces the need for medication.
Dr Jakob Friis Schmidt, a medical doctor and a PhD student explained, ‘We discovered that soccer training significantly improved the flexibility of the heart and furthermore, that the cardiac muscle tissue was able to work 29% faster. This means that after three months of training, the heart had become 10 years younger’. The study was co-authored alongside with PhD student, Thomas Rostgaard Andersen.
Dr Jakob add, ‘Many type 2 diabetes patients have less flexible heart muscles which is often one of the first signs of diabetes’ effect on cardiac function, increasing the risk of heart failure.’
Advanced ultrasound scanning of the heart also demonstrated that the heart’s contraction phase was improved and that the capacity of the heart to shorten was improved by 23% – a research result that had not been reported with other types of physical activity.
At the start of the study, 60% of the participants had high blood pressure and had been prescribed one or more blood pressure reducing medications.
Soccer training reduced the systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 8 mmHg, which is greater than the achievements of prior training studies.
These effects are as pronounced as those achieved by taking high blood pressure pills and the need for medication was significant reduced.
A research group from the Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, funded by the Nordea-fonden, conducted the study in collaboration with the Cardiology Department at Gentofte Hospital, Denmark, the Steno Diabetes Center, Denmark and FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre, F-MARC.
