Statin treatment in association with physical exercise practice can substantially
reduce cardiovascular mortality risk of dyslipidemic individuals, but this practice
is associated with myopathic event exacerbation. This study aimed to present the most
recent results of specific literature about the effects of statins and its
association with physical exercise on skeletal musculature. Thus, a literature review
was performed using PubMed and SciELO databases, through the combination of the
keywords “statin” AND “exercise” AND “muscle”, restricting the selection to original
studies published between January 1990 and November 2013. Sixteen studies evaluating
the effects of statins in association with acute or chronic exercises on skeletal
muscle were analyzed. Study results indicate that athletes using statins can
experience deleterious effects on skeletal muscle, as the exacerbation of skeletal
muscle injuries are more frequent with intense training or acute eccentric and
strenuous exercises. Moderate physical training, in turn, when associated to statins
does not increase creatine kinase levels or pain reports, but improves muscle and
metabolic functions as a consequence of training. Therefore, it is suggested that
dyslipidemic patients undergoing statin treatment should be exposed to moderate
aerobic training in combination to resistance exercises three times a week, and the
provision of physical training prior to drug administration is desirable, whenever
possible.