Physical Test to Estimate Suitable Workloads for an Exercise Program in Breast Cancer Survivors.

Guillamó, E, Travier, N, Oviedo, GR, Fonseca-Nunes, A, Alamo, JM, Cos, F, Roca, A, Niño, O, Agudo, A, and Javierre, C. Physical test to estimate suitable workloads for an exercise program in breast cancer survivors. J Strength Cond Res 34(12): 3593-3599, 2020-Epidemiologic studies suggest that patients with breast cancer who gain weight after diagnosis have a higher risk of recurrence and death. Regular physical exercise can help minimize postdiagnosis weight gain. The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of a physical test for individualizing the workloads used during a fitness program. To continuously individualize the intensity of the training, a test was designed and integrated into the sessions. The test consisted in monitoring heart rate and workload during 2 bouts of cycling at moderate intensity. The workload parameters recorded during the tests were later used as reference values to plan the intensity of the next in-person training sessions. The 5 tests conducted during the 12 weeks of the intervention showed significant differences in intensity (F = 3.034, p = 0.047). Compared with the first evaluation, the intensities measured during the third, fourth, and fifth tests presented increases of 9.9% (p = 0.02), 13.2% (p = 0.019), and 17.5% (p = 0.002), respectively. A significant increase in workload with respect to body weight was observed in the physical assessment performed after the program (t = 13.2, p = 0.0001). The peak oxygen consumption with respect to body weight (peak V[Combining Dot Above]O2) achieved by the subjects during the assessment at the end of the program had also increased (t = 9.72, p = 0.0001). The intensity test, introduced in the training sessions along with the physical exercise program, was an easy-to-use, practical tool for monitoring intensity. It allows an adjustment of the workload over the program period that respects the individual progression of each patient.

Feasibility and Effects of Structured Physical Exercise Interventions in Adults with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease which affects young adults at a time of maximum personal, professional and social growth. Recent guidelines on physical activity have established that exercise is an essential component of the clinical management of people with MS with mild or moderate degree of disability. The main purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and the effects of two different 40-week structured physical exercise interventions (a supervised high intensity interval training plus home exercise program and a self-applied home-based exercise program) on clinical evolution, psychological wellbeing, quality of life, fatigue, cardiorespiratory fitness, strength and balance of people with MS. Twenty-nine participants with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) participated in this study. All of them were fully ambulatory and with minimal disability (Expanded Disability Status Scale <3), for at least the last six months. Participants selected to be part of a combined face-to-face plus home exercise group (CFTFG; n = 8); a self-applied home-based exercise group (HG; n = 11) or a control group (CG; n = 10). A total of 23 participants completed the protocol (79.3%), of which 8 participants (100%) from the CFTFG, 7 (63.6%) from the HG and 8 (80%) from the CG. During the first 20-weeks of training, adherence from the CFTFG reached 77.5% and from the HG reached 50 %. During the second 20-weeks of training, adherence from the CFTFG reached 62.5% and from the HG reached 45.4%. After 20-weeks of training, a significant improvement in the absolute VO2 peak and in the 30-second sit to stand test was observed in the CFTFG (all p < .05). This study confirms that offering a 40-week structured exercise programme to a group of fully ambulatory and minimally disabled persons with RRMS is feasible and safe. Any adverse event related to the trial was reported by the participants.

Different training programs decrease blood pressure during submaximal exercise.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to study the effects of aerobic, resistance, and mixed (aerobic and resistance) training programs on blood pressure, both at rest and during submaximal exercise in healthy people. METHODS: We randomized 39 physically active, healthy participants into aerobic, resistance, and mixed (aerobic and resistance) exercise groups, and a control group. The exercise groups trained for 60 min three times/week for 6 weeks, and a submaximal cycle ergometer test was performed before and after training, and 3 weeks after detraining. Continuous blood pressure was determined before and during the test. RESULTS: At the submaximal test, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after detraining in the exercise groups. However, between pre-training and detraining, we found significant reductions at rest only in the mixed exercise group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Although all exercise had similar effects on blood pressure during submaximal exercise, the mixed aerobic and resistance exercise may be optimal for blood pressure reduction, by the addition of diverse physiological pathways.

Physical effects of a reconditioning programme in a group of chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

BACKGROUND: Physical exercise can be part of treatment in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), where the aim would be to improve strength and endurance through increasing physical exercise (intensity and time) without aggravating symptomatology. The present study examines the effectiveness of a reconditioning programme (focusing on strength, endurance, balance and propioception) for achieving maximum functional capacity according to the clinical status of CFS patients. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients with CFS were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group (CG) comprising 22 patients and an active group (AG) of 46 patients, the latter being invited to take part in a functional reconditioning programme based on 12 weeks of laboratory training followed by a further 12-week home training period. Functional assessments were as follows: before (I) and after (II) the laboratory training and after (III) the home training. RESULTS: In the AG, 22 patients (67%) completed the intervention (laboratory) stage and 20 finished the whole protocol (61%). Patients in the AG showed improved static and dynamic balance, as well as significantly greater maximum strength (F=7.059, P<0.05). Differences in resistance strength were also observed, with the AG showing a 19.9% improvement between functional assessments I and II (P=0.04). We do not found changes in the CG. CONCLUSIONS: A physical exercise programme of this kind might offer CFS patients the opportunity to improve their strength, balance and quality of life, there being only a very small risk of relapse and none of the adverse effects of other treatments.

Circulating progenitor cells during exercise, muscle electro-stimulation and intermittent hypobaric hypoxia in patients with traumatic brain injury: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Circulating progenitor cells (CPC) treatments may have great potential for the recovery of neurons and brain function. OBJECTIVE: To increase and maintain CPC with a program of exercise, muscle electro-stimulation (ME) and/or intermittent-hypobaric-hypoxia (IHH), and also to study the possible improvement in physical or psychological functioning of participants with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). METHODS: Twenty-one participants. Four groups: exercise and ME group (EEG), cycling group (CyG), IHH and ME group (HEG) and control group (CG). Psychological and physical stress tests were carried out. CPC were measured in blood several times during the protocol. RESULTS: Psychological tests did not change. In the physical stress tests the VO2 uptake increased in the EEG and the CyG, and the maximal tolerated workload increased in the HEG. CPC levels increased in the last three weeks in EEG, but not in CyG, CG and HEG. CONCLUSIONS: CPC levels increased in the last three weeks of the EEG program, but not in the other groups and we did not detect performed psychological test changes in any group. The detected aerobic capacity or workload improvement must be beneficial for the patients who have suffered TBI, but exercise type and the mechanisms involved are not clear.

Nitric oxide metabolite production during exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disabling illness of unknown etiology that is characterized by fatigue associated with a reduced ability to work, lasting for more than 6 months, and accompanied by a specific set of symptoms. The diagnosis remains difficult because of the absence of laboratory tests and is, therefore, made largely on the basis of the symptoms reported by the patient. The aim of this study was to analyze differences in blood nitrate levels in CFS patients and a matched control group after a physical exercise test. METHODS: Forty-four consecutive female patients with CFS and 25 healthy women performed an exercise test using a cycle ergometer with monitoring of cardiopulmonary response. Blood samples were obtained for biochemical analyses of glucose, lactate, and nitrates at the beginning (under resting conditions) and after the maximal and supramaximal tests. RESULTS: Plasma nitrates differed between the groups, with higher values in the CFS group (F = 6.93, p = 0.003). Nitrate concentration increased in relation to workload and reached higher values in the CFS group, the maximum difference with respect to the control group being 295% (t = 4.88, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The main result of the present study is that nitric oxide (NO) metabolites (nitrates) showed a much higher increase after a maximal physical test in CFS patients than in a group of matched subjects. This combination (exercise plus NO response evaluation) may be useful in the assessment of CFS.