MONDAY, April 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Individuals with statin-associated muscle symptoms do not have worse exercise-induced muscle injury after prolonged moderate-intensity exercise, according to a study published in the April 11 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Neeltje A.E. Allard, M.D., from the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and colleagues examined the effect of prolonged moderate-intensity exercise on markers of muscle injury in statin users with and without statin-associated muscle symptoms (35 and 34 participants, respectively) and in 31 controls. Participants walked 30, 40, or 50 km/day for four consecutive days. Markers of muscle injury, muscle performance, and reported muscle symptoms were examined at baseline and after exercise.

The researchers found that at baseline, all muscle injury markers were comparable and they increased following exercise, with no difference between the groups observed in terms of the magnitude of exercise-induced elevations. Symptomatic statin users had higher muscle pain scores at baseline, but scores increased similarly in all groups following exercise. Compared with control participants, symptomatic statin users had a greater increase in muscle relaxation time following exercise. Symptomatic and asymptomatic statin users and control participants had no difference in leukocyte coenzyme Q10 levels, which were measured at baseline; levels were not related to muscle injury markers, fatigue resistance, or reported muscle symptoms.

“This study demonstrated that habitually active statin users can engage in prolonged moderate-intensity exercise without exacerbating skeletal muscle injury and reinforces the recommendation to combine statin therapy with a physically active lifestyle,” the authors write.

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