Author/Authors :
Riyahi, Fatima Department of Physical Education and Sport Science - Central Tehran Branch - Islamic Azad University, Tehran , Riahy, Simin Clinical Biomechanics and Agronomy Research Center - Aja University of Medical Science, Tehran , Yousefpour, Mitra Department of Physiology - Medical Faculty - Aja University of Medical Science, Tehran
Abstract :
Context: The skin is the most important organ of the body, and maintaining its integrity is important for health. Severe skin damage
is life-threatening, and wound healing restores its integrity. One of the main health problems is impaired cutaneous wound
healing. According to the importance of wound healing and the fact that unrepaired skin decreases the quality of life, many studies
have investigated the effect of some natural and chemical substances on the length and quality of wound healing to find beneficial
interventions for rapid and economical treatment.
Objectives: This review was conducted to describe the physiology of cutaneous wound healing and some positive and negative
factors affecting it with a focus on exercise.
Evidence Acquisition: An electronic search without any time limitation was performed on the PubMed, Google Scholar, andWeb of
Science databases. The keywords were ‘wound’, ‘healing’, and ‘exercise’. Finally, according to the similarities or differences between
the results and the relationship with the subject, 53 papers were selected and reviewed.
Results: Wound healing is a complex physiological process with four overlapping processes. It seems that disturbance in the inflammatory
phase of wound healing is the main factor in the impairment of healing. Traditionally, many chemical and herbal
medicines and compounds have been used to speed up wound recovery due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties.
Many studies have evaluated the effect of exercise, as complementary medicine, on wound healing, and they have examined
the effect of different protocols of exercise on the speed of woundhealing. According to the results of these studies, aerobic exercise,
due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects, is a beneficial method in shortening the length of healing, especially in aged,
obese, and diabetic individuals.
Conclusions: Exercise as a low-cost intervention is a good strategy in the treatment of impaired and chronic wounds.
