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Exercise & MSK Management

The Benefits of Strength Training for Musculoskeletal (MSK) Health

Strength training, also called resistance training, involves working your muscles against external resistance, such as weights or even your own body weight. This helps your body become stronger and better at performing everyday tasks. Strength training is especially important for the health of our bones, muscles, and joints, together known as the musculoskeletal system. 

The musculoskeletal system supports your body, helps you move, and protects important organs. For example, your bones protect your brain, heart, and lungs, while your muscles help you walk, run, lift things, and even smile. As we age, our musculoskeletal system can get weaker, leading to problems like weaker muscles and bones. Strength training is a great way to keep everything in good condition.

One of the main benefits of strength training is that it helps you build and strengthen muscles. Muscles are the tissues that help us move our bodies and do everyday activities, like lifting groceries, climbing stairs, and even sitting up in bed. When you do strength training exercises, like lifting weights, your muscles work harder than usual. This helps them grow stronger over time. Strength training also helps prevent muscle loss that happens as we get older, a condition called sarcopenia. Losing muscle can make everyday tasks harder and lower your quality of life.

Another amazing benefit of strength training is that it makes your bones stronger. Bones are living tissues that break down and rebuild themselves all the time. When you do strength training, you put stress on your bones, which helps them become denser and stronger. This is especially important as we get older because our bones naturally lose strength over time.

Strength training helps prevent bone diseases like osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weak and break easily. 

Strength training can also lower the risk of injuries to muscles and tendons. When your muscles and tendons are weak, they can’t handle the demands of daily activities, like walking for long periods, lifting children, or carrying groceries. Stronger muscles and tendons can better withstand these stresses, which lowers the chances of injuries like muscle strains or tendonitis.

In addition to benefiting your musculoskeletal system, strength training has many other health benefits. It helps with maintaining a healthy weight, improving muscle mass, controlling blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, and improving heart health. These health metrics fall under the category of metabolic health.

It's never too late to start strength training to help your musculoskeletal system and overall health. Talk with your primary care provider about any concerns to keep in mind or for a referral to a physical therapist to get started.

To access the full article on strength training and musculoskeletal health, click here.

Useful links:

  1. Exercise Considerations For Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain - International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)
  2. Top 5 Ways Exercise Helps Relieve Musculoskeletal (MSK) Pain — Mountain Health and Performance
  3. Managing Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain through Exercise | BenchMark PT
  4. Exercise and Chronic Pain | USU