Study Design: Prospective cohort study of rehab program completers, comparing aerobic capacity data of chronic lumbar spinal disorder patients (CLSD) to that of chronic cervical spinal disorder (CCSD), collected from a tertiary care facility.
Objective: We evaluated whether CLSD is associated with different pre- and postrehabilitation aerobic capacity deficits than CCSD, and whether such deficits affect functional restoration outcomes.
Summary Of Background Data: Chronic spinal disorder patients are thought to lose aerobic fitness as a component of the deconditioning syndrome. Patients with CLSD often restrict aerobic activities because of back or leg pain, while CCSD patients generally do so to a lesser degree. We hypothesized that those with CLSD would have greater deficits in tests of aerobic fitness than patients with CCSD both before and after treatment.
Methods: From a consecutive cohort of 683 patients with work-related spinal disorders, two groups were identified: patients with CLSD (n = 504; age 40.1 years; 68% male); and patients with CCSD (n = 179; 41.3 years; 43% male). All patients completed an intensive, medically supervised functional restoration program. Before and after the program, patients completed a submaximal bicycle ergometer aerobic capacity test and a psychosocial test battery. A structured clinical interview to determine socioeconomic outcomes was conducted 1 year after the program completion.
Results: Of CLSD patients 33% and 11% of CCSD patients (P < 0.001) either failed to produce any torque or could not complete at least 2 stages on the bicycle on preprogram tests (invalid tests). However, all patients had valid bicycle tests at program completion. Nearly two-thirds of the subjects with initially invalid tests in the lumbar group failed to develop any torque, while only one-third of subjects with invalid tests of the cervical group had a similar result. Thus, CLSD is associated with greater prerehabiliation aerobic fitness deficits than CCSD. Overall, there was no significant change in pre to postrehab aerobic capacities for the initially valid test subjects. The initially invalid test subjects achieved similar postrehabilitation scores compared to the valid test subjects, although CLSD patients with initially valid tests performed slightly better at the posttest. Socioeconomic outcomes were the same one year after the program for valid and invalid test subjects. CLSD patients had higher preprogram self reports of disability. The subgroup of the initially invalid test subjects that produced no torque whatsoever (19.3% of CLSD and 3.9% of CCSD) did not differ from the subgroup that failed to complete 2 stages in the pretest of aerobic performance on depression. They had higher pretest self-reported disability.
Conclusions: Although mean aerobic fitness levels for all patients improved during rehabilitation, the improvement is almost entirely accounted for by initially invalid tests becoming valid. Aerobic capacity testing measured with submaximal bicycle ergometry may frequently be invalid when fear-avoidance limits effort, particularly in CLSD. Psychosocial fear-avoidance, as it applies to bicycle ergometry, can be overcome in virtually all patients motivated to complete a tertiary rehabilitation program. As such, prerehabilitation aerobic capacity testing is a poor differentiator of postrehabilitation outcomes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.brs.0000141154.38841.05 | DOI Listing |
Paediatr Respir Rev
January 2025
Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales 2145, Australia; Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
Physical activity is crucial for children's physical, cognitive, and social development, reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases and improving overall well-being. A major legacy of extremely preterm delivery is respiratory limitation with reduced lung function and decreased exercise capacity which can be further exacerbated by inactivity and deconditioning. Strategies to increase incidental physical activities in early childhood and participation in sport and more formal exercise programmes in middle childhood have the potential to optimize cardiopulmonary function, improve quality of life, and foster social interactions in childhood and beyond, thereby providing benefits that extend far beyond the physical domain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
January 2025
College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Introduction: Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) can experience intermittent claudication, which limits walking capacity and the ability to undertake daily activities. While exercise therapy is an established way to improve walking capacity in people with PAD, it is not feasible in all patients. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) provides a way to passively induce repeated muscle contractions and has been widely used as a therapy for chronic conditions that limit functional capacity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Therm Biol
January 2025
China Institute of Sport Science, Beijing, 100061, China. Electronic address:
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different cold acclimation strategies on exercise performance in male mice exposed to low-temperature environments.
Methods: Male mice were subjected to five distinct acclimation regimens over 8 weeks: immersion at 10 °C (10 °CI) or 20 °C (20 °CI), swimming at 10 °C (10 °CS), 20 °C (20 °CS), or 34 °C (34 °CS). During the first 2 weeks, the acclimation time progressively decreased from 30 min to 3 min per day, and the water temperatures were lowered from 34 °C to the target levels, followed by 6 weeks of consistent exposure.
Nutrients
January 2025
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
Background: , which are filamentous cyanobacteria, have gained significant popularity in the food industry, medicine, and aquaculture.
Methods: In this study, our objective was to explore the influence of on the gut microbiota and exercise capacity of mice undergoing high-intensity exercise. Twenty-four male BALB/c mice were divided into four groups, with six mice in each group.
Nutrients
January 2025
Department of Public Health & Exercise Science, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28607, USA.
Background: Quercetin (QCT) and citrulline (CIT) have been independently associated with improved antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide (NO) production, potentially enhancing cardiovascular function and exercise performance. This study aimed to evaluate the combined and independent effects of QCT and CIT supplementation on NO metabolites and antioxidant biomarkers in 50 trained cyclists undergoing a 20 km cycling time trial (TT).
Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, forty-two male and eight female trained cyclists were assigned to QCT + CIT, QCT, CIT, or placebo (PL) groups.
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