[Muscular work in the therapy of diabetes mellitus].

A review is given on muscular exercise and its role in glucose homeostasis in normal and diabetic persons. Metabolic and hormonal consequences of short term and endurance exercise are described in detail. Based on clinical experience as well as on the basis of data published by the author dealing with animal experiments and clinical research studies the hypothesis of the "permissive role" of insulin with respect to the stimulatory effect of exercise on muscle glucose metabolism is put foreward and discussed. The metabolic effects of training in patients with diabetes mellitus are summarized. It is emphasized that in clinical research as well as in clinical routine muscular exercise as a means to treat metabolic disturbances has been widely neglected.