Moderate exercise safe for people with muscle pain from statins, study suggests

According to one study, moderate exercise is safe for people who have muscle pain from taking statins.

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Researchers found that cholesterol-lowering drugs did not increase muscle injury after long-term running.

Scientists say the findings are reassuring for people who experience muscle pain or fatigue from statins but need exercise to help keep their cholesterol levels down and their heart healthy .

Statins are one of the most commonly prescribed medicines in the UK, with around seven to eight million people taking them to reduce the chance of heart attack and stroke.

These results demonstrate that long-term moderate-intensity exercise is safe for statin users and can be performed by statin users to maintain a physically active lifestyle and derive its cardiovascular health benefits.

Neeltje Allard, Radboud University Medical Center

But the NHS lists muscle pain as one of the common side-effects of taking the medicine, alongside headache, dizziness and other symptoms.

While previous studies have shown that vigorous exercise may exacerbate muscle damage in some statin users, which may lead to reduced physical activity or people stopping taking their medication, less is known about the effects of moderate exercise. goes.

The 100 people involved in the small study were divided into three groups: asymptomatic and symptomatic statin users, and those who did not take the drugs.

They walked 30, 40, or 50 kilometers (18.6, 24.8, or 31 mi, respectively) per day at a self-selected pace for four consecutive days.

Statin users had been on the drug for at least three months.

The study found that statins did not increase muscle injury or muscle symptoms after moderate-intensity exercise.

Neeltje Allard, first author of the study and researcher at the Department of Integrative Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, said: “Even though muscle pain and fatigue scores were higher in symptomatic statin users at baseline, the increase in muscle symptoms was associated with exercise.” The latter was similar between groups.

“These results suggest that long-term, moderate-intensity exercise is safe for statin users and can be performed by statin users to maintain a physically active lifestyle and reap its cardiovascular health benefits.” Is.”

The findings are published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Last August, a study by researchers at the University of Oxford suggested that taking statins usually does not cause muscle soreness.

Where there is pain, the Oxford scientists said it could either put patients off taking the drug or discourage them from taking it in the first place, meaning they could reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke. Can miss out on the benefits of doing.

The study suggested that the risk of muscle pain caused by statins was low and did not outweigh the benefits of taking the drug.

It also indicated that the small increased risk of muscle symptoms was mostly seen within the first year of treatment.