High-impact Exercise in Adults With Crohn's Disease

Crohn's disease increases the risk of poor musculoskeletal health, as the inflammatory disease process directly inhibits regulatory pathways involved in bone and muscle formation and maintenance. The negative effects of disease on muscle-bone health are compounded by poor nutritional status, vitamin d deficiency, prolonged exposure to glucocorticoid therapy, and reduced physical activity. Modern, steroid sparing therapies are successful at inducing clinical remission in terms of inflammation, however they have limited effect in remedying observed muscle-bone deficits. Subsequently, patients with Crohn's disease are at increased lifelong risk of pathological fractures and osteoporosis. Novel adjunctive therapies are therefore required to complement pharmacological treatments and target muscle-bone deficits, which are responsible for significant disease burden in Crohn's. High-impact exercise may be a useful additional therapy for patients with Crohn's disease, as the mechanical strains produced during this type of exercise, through large magnitude muscular contractions and ground reaction forces, can promote bone formation and gains in muscle mass. There have been no previous studies assessing the effects of high impact exercise in Crohn's disease, so it is unknown if this type of exercise is safe and feasible in this population. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of high-impact exercise for improving markers of bone and muscle health in adults with Crohn's disease, and compare the effects of exercise with a group of healthy age and sex matched controls.