They found that pre-injury exercise clearly reduced the damage to both muscle and nerve, but it did not significantly reduce the amount of oxidative stress. "We know exercise made the muscle and nerve tougher," Yan said. "The protection is very clear." While the mechanism for that protection is not yet understood, Yan's previous research has shed light on what happens to muscle cells when blood flow is restored. He likens it to wires being disconnected from a circuit board. He's even identified a compound that, in mice, helps protect the mitochondria in those circuit boards. "With this treatment, we found the circuit board, a structure called neuromuscular junction where nerve is physically connected with muscle for control of its contraction, was preserved," he said. "The wires remained connected. The function is normal. Therefore, recovery is much faster." This drug could potentially prevent nerve damage caused by the restoration of blood flow and speed patients' recovery. (It is clear, however, that exercise training achieves this through a different mechanism.) - www.sciencedaily.com