Whole body resistance training on functional outcomes of patients with Stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease: A systematic review

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes skeletal muscle wasting, resulting in reduced function and inability to live independently. This systematic review critically appraised the scientific literature regarding the effects of full-body resistance training on clinically-relevant functional capacity measures in CKD. The study population included studies of people with Stage 4 or 5 CKD and a mean age of 40+ years old. Eight databases were searched for eligible studies: Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, and AGELINE. MeSH terms and keyword combinations were used for screening following the PRISMA conduct. Inclusion criteria were based on PICO principles and no date of publication filter was applied. The intervention was training 2 days/week of structured resistance exercises using major upper and lower muscle groups. Minimum intervention period was 7 weeks. Comparison groups maintained their habitual activity without structured exercise training. Outcome measures of interest were: 6-min walk test, grip strength, timed up-and-go test, and sit-to-stand. Eight randomized controlled trials and one nonequivalent comparison-group study fulfilled the inclusion criteria and underwent data extraction. All studies were of hemodialysis patients. The evidence indicates that full-body resistance exercise significantly improved grip strength, timed up and go and sit to stand tests; metrics associated with enhanced quality and quantity of life.