The role of exercise in modulating the gut muscle axis: Implications for performance and recovery
Keywords:
Exercise physiology, fatigue, gut muscle axis, gut microbiota, recovery, Sports performanceAbstract
Background & Objective: The gut muscle axis has lately emerged as an important relationship between exercise physiology, microbiome research, and nutrition. This systematic review investigated how exercise alters gut microbial composition and function, and how these changes influence muscular performance, recovery, and overall health. Key Findings: Current studies suggest that both acute and chronic exercise result to beneficial changes in microbial diversity, increasing the production of metabolites such as short chain fatty acids, bile acids, and tryptophan derivatives that aid in energy metabolism, mitochondrial efficiency, and anti-inflammatory pathways. Also, gut-derived signals appear to affect muscle adaptation, immunological regulation, and fatigue resistance, indicating a bidirectional link. Nutritional Implications: Nutritional techniques such as probiotic, prebiotic, and symbiotic supplementation can influence the gut-muscle axis, which has implications for protein metabolism, amino acid availability, and tissue repair. Studies in athletes suggest that gut microbial composition is linked to endurance ability, recovery rates, and resilience to overtraining-related inflammation. Limitation: However, methodological limitations, such as heterogeneity in study designs and limits in microbiome sequencing, restrict the generalizability of current findings. This review highlights important limitations in the integration of gut microbial profile-based exercise prescription, tailored nutrition, and multi-omics techniques. Conclusion & Future Directions: Future studies should use systems biology and precision medicine frameworks to further describe the functional effects of gut muscle interactions in various populations, such as clinical groups with metabolic problems or sarcopenia. The gut muscle axis is a promising area of study in sports and exercise science that may help develop tailored interventions that improve long-term health outcomes, speed up recovery, and maximize performance.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Nicholas Mwebaze, Roland Shimey Mukana, Loyce Nahwera, Annet Nankwanga, Ricky Richard Ojara, Elyvania Nabaggala, Linika Lumbuye, Milton Chebet, Timothy Makubuya
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