Covid-19 & Health Update: Exercise Improves Vaccination Results
Hello everyone:
In this blog, I want to emphasize how exercise can improve our health during this pandemic and beyond. Exercise causes many effects, but I am focusing on how muscle impacts immune function. As we exercise and use our muscles, they secrete different chemicals, and some are called myokines. This class of chemical signaling agents trigger multiple beneficial effects throughout the body, and if our exercise is not chronically high intensity, it will lower inflammation. As you know, inflammation causes, aggravates, or perpetuates all human ailments. If we have a background chronic inflammatory burden, our immune function is impaired and creates a comorbidity that can possibly make viral infections more damaging.
“Vaccination programs, although feted for success in reducing infectious disease morbidity and mortality, are limited by vaccine efficacy, which is particularly problematic in populations with reduced immune function. Exercise has been identified as a behavioral factor that can improve immune function in some settings and cohorts, and therefore, in the setting of vaccination, it may serve as an adjuvant for immune responses.”
“Skeletal muscle is a major immune regulatory organ and generates a range of proteins, termed myokines, which have anti-inflammatory and immune-protective effects. Several studies indicate that maintaining physical activity has immune benefits in older adults, for example, it reduces the systemic inflammation associated with chronic age-related diseases.”
Bottom Line: This information applies to all ages where there is insufficient exercise to maintain optimal activity of muscle. Couch-potato-itis is a prevalent condition in the U.S. for the young and older alike. We spend too many hours sitting at our desks and computers, too much screen time, too much time driving etc., and not enough time moving in a purposeful way to improve our physical function as a component of our overall health. This includes how exercise improves immune health, brain health, bone density, hormonal regulation, lymphatic detox flow, cardiovascular and respiratory health, mood, memory and more.
I strongly recommend everyone start and/or continue an exercise program for life. I really love yoga as almost anyone can do yoga at any level, as it has so many benefits it should be a part of your exercise program. Whatever you choose…just do it…frequently…forever.
The post Covid-19 & Health Update: Exercise Improves Vaccination Results appeared first on RICHMOND CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGY.
