Comparison betweent the Effects of Swimming and Treadmill-Based Aerobic Training Protocols in Diabetic Rats

Abstract Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) can cause damage to several physiological systems. Objectives: To compare and characterize the effects of aerobic exercise training (ET) performed by swimming with those of ET performed on a treadmill on the skeletal muscle and heart of rats with DM1. Methods: 41 male Wistar rats were randomized into four groups: nondiabetic control (CTR), diabetic control (DMC), diabetic trained on the treadmill (DMT), and diabetic trained by swimming (DMS). The trained groups performed aerobic exercise training for 8 weeks, 5 times a week, 60 min per day. Exercise tolerance, blood glucose, body weight, wet weight of the skeletal muscles and left ventricle (LV), muscle glycogen, cross-sectional area of skeletal muscles, and cross-sectional diameter and collagen volume fraction of the LV were evaluated. Results: The results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation of the mean and submitted to two-way ANOVA with post-hoc Bonferroni test. Aerobic ET protocols applied to animals with DM1, regardless of the ergometer, showed satisfactory results (p