ABSTRACT

Background

Exercise is part of the general recommendations for care of people with most arthropathies or connective tissue diseases, but it does not feature specifically in the clinical guidelines for management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) by rheumatology practitioners. In this study, we sought to explore rheumatologists' (RHs') and rheumatology nurses' (RNs') perspectives and use of exercise interventions for adults with SLE or SSc.

Methods

Semistructured interviews were conducted with Australian RHs and RNs online using Zoom (video conferencing software). Interviews were transcribed verbatim, then coded and analyzed using NVivo for content analysis of themes.

Results

Seventeen participants completed the interviews (RHs n = 12, RNs n = 5). Five themes were identified: rheumatology practitioners perceive that (1) exercise is beneficial for adults with SLE or SSc, especially in managing fatigue, pain, and wellbeing; (2) exercise presents some general, structural, and disease-related barriers for adults with SLE or SSc; (3) rheumatology practitioners are confident in providing general exercise advice but lack time and confidence in prescribing exercise; (4) rheumatology practitioners' concerns about exercise are limited to those with heart and lung disease, inflamed joints, ulcerated fingertips, and severe contractures; and (5) to facilitate safe and attainable exercise, rheumatology practitioners recommend long-term, supervised, gradual, and affordable exercise options. There were no clear differences identified between the views of RNs and RHs.

Conclusion

Rheumatology practitioners require information and options for long-term and affordable exercise for adults with SLE or SSc that are supervised, individualized, and focus on a gradual progressive approach.

ABSTRACT

Background

It is known that exercise is beneficial to people with substance use disorder, however little evidence exists regarding their exercise capacity. This pilot study investigates the exercise capacity of patients with substance use disorder and effects of an acute bout of exercise on affect.

Methods

Twenty-nine participants admitted to a withdrawal management facility were recruited to complete a health and exercise assessment (18 females, 11 males; 41 ± 11 years old). Mood was measured before and after exercise assessments using the subjective experience to exercise scale. Data was grouped by sex, and descriptive analyses were performed against age-matched normative data. Within group, before and after subjective experience to exercise scale measures were analyzed using 2-way ANOVA with sex as a between subject factor.

Results

Participants ranged from having 2 to 6 modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. Participants performed below average compared to age-matched and sex-matched normative data for the 6-minute walk test (females: 539 ± 54 m, males: 606 ± 89 m); and push-up test (females: 22% good, males: 36% good). Of the 29 participants, 29% failed to achieve the average range for sex-matched norms in the sit-to-stand test. However, all participants achieved above average for curl-ups, and 72% achieved an average or above score in the step-up test. Exercise significantly increased wellbeing (P < 0.001, effect size = 1.12) and decreased psychological distress (P = 0.045, effect size = 1.03) and fatigue (P < 0.001, effect size = 1.32).

Conclusion

Exercise is both feasible and beneficial in a withdrawal management setting. Capacity to perform exercise was generally poor with high individual variance. Design of future interventions will need tailored prescription for patients in this population.

ABSTRACT

While muscle stretching has been commonly used to alleviate pain, reports of its effectiveness are conflicting. The objective of this review is to investigate the acute and chronic effects of stretching on pain, including delayed onset muscle soreness. The few studies implementing acute stretching protocols have reported small to large magnitude decreases in quadriceps and anterior knee pain as well as reductions in headache pain. Chronic stretching programs have demonstrated more consistent reductions in pain from a wide variety of joints and muscles, which has been ascribed to an increased sensory (pain) tolerance. Other mechanisms underlying acute and chronic pain reduction have been proposed to be related to gate control theory, diffuse noxious inhibitory control, myofascial meridians, and reflex-induced increases in parasympathetic nervous activity. By contrast, the acute effects of stretching on delayed onset muscle soreness are conflicting. Reports of stretch-induced reductions in delayed onset muscle soreness may be attributed to increased pain tolerance or alterations in the muscle's parallel elastic component or extracellular matrix properties providing protection against tissue damage. Further research evaluating the effect of various stretching protocols on different pain modalities is needed to clarify conflicts within the literature.

Rens N, Gandhi N, Mak J, Paul J, Bent D, Liu S, Savage D, Nielsen-Bowles H, Triggs D, Ata G, Talgo J, Gutierrez S, Aalami O. Activity data from wearables as an indicator of functional capacity in patients with cardiovascular disease. PloS ONE. 2021;16(3):1–10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247834

As the use of remote clinical management methods increases with advancements in technology and general necessity, there is a need to evaluate the efficacy of these methods to optimize patient safety and improve clinical care. Rens et al. aimed to determine the accuracy of a home-based 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as compared with a clinic-based

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Arterial Health in Adults With Down Syndrome

Brantley K. BallengerPhD, ACSM-CEP,

Stanley P. BrownPhD,

Bo FernhallPhD,

Robert W. MotlPhD, and

Stamatis AgiovlasitisPhD, ACSM-CEP

Exercise Training and Its Far-Reaching Effects

Rheumatology Practitioners' View of Exercise in Adults With Systemic Sclerosis or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

ABSTRACT

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Exercise Capacity and Acute Effect of Exercise on Affect in a Substance Use Disorder Population

ABSTRACT

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Effects of Acute and Chronic Stretching on Pain Control

ABSTRACT

A Primer on Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: Part I

ABSTRACT

Wearables, Respiratory Rehabilitation, Acute Myocardial Infarction and Frailty, and High-Intensity Respiratory Muscle Training

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Arterial Health in Adults With Down Syndrome

Health Care Professionals’ Promotion of Exercise Referral Schemes in New South Wales

Enrolling Patients With Claudication into Supervised Exercise Therapy: A Single-Center Experience

Farewell, but Not Goodbye

Feasibility of Noninvasive Diastolic Stress Testing in the 10- to 21-Year-Old Age Group