Innovative Exercise Research Articles

Health Benefits of an Innovative Exercise Program for Mitochondrial Disorders

We determined the effects of an innovative 8-wk exercise intervention (aerobic, resistance, and inspiratory muscle training) for patients with mitochondrial disease. Several end points were assessed in 12 patients (19-59 yr, 4 women) at pretraining, posttraining, and after 4-wk detraining: aerobic power, muscle strength/power and maximal inspiratory pressure (main end points), ability to perform activities of daily living, body composition, quality of life, and blood myokines (secondary end points). The program was safe, with patients' adherence being 94% ± 5%. A significant time effect was found for virtually all main end points (P ≤ 0.004), indicating a training improvement. Similar findings (P ≤ 0.003) were found for activities of daily living tests, total/trunk/leg lean mass, total fat mass, femoral fracture risk, and general health perception. No differences were found for blood myokines, except for an acute exertional increase in interleukin 8 at posttraining/detraining (P = 0.002) and in fatty acid binding protein 3 at detraining (P = 0.002). An intervention including novel exercises for mitochondrial disease patients (e.g., inspiratory muscle training) produced benefits in numerous indicators of physical capacity and induced a previously unreported shift toward a healthier body composition phenotype.

Impact of Underwater Treadmill Training on Glycemic Control, Blood Lipids, and Health-Related Fitness in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes.

IN BRIEF A large number of adults with type 2 diabetes experience comorbidities that discourage physical activity and hinder regular participation in land-based exercise programs. An aquatic exercise program is an innovative exercise modality that incorporates combined aerobic and resistance exercise. The purpose of this study was to determine if an underwater treadmill walking program featuring gradual and progressive increases in walking speed and duration has a positive effect on glycemic control, metabolic health, cardiovascular function, body composition, and leg strength in middle-aged adults with type 2 diabetes.

Outdoor physical activity for older people-the senior exercise park: Current research, challenges and future directions.

Exercising outdoors provide beneficial effect on mental and physical health for all ages. However, few older people exercise outdoors other than walking. While outdoor gyms have become increasingly common in Australia, limited outdoor exercise equipment specifically designed for older people is available in public spaces. We have set up and evaluated a unique purpose-built outdoor exercise park for older people in the community setting anddemonstrated positive physical and wellbeing outcomes associated with the provision of this unique exercise mode and social program. This study is a reflective narrative describing this innovative exercise approach and reports challenges associated with establishment of the exercise park, conducting the randomised trial, strategies adopted to address these challenges and recommendations for future implementation of this approach in the community. Many challenges were encountered, including securing appropriate land to locate the exercise park, control of environmental factors for safety (non-slippery ground and equipment) as well as logistics in running the exercise program itself. Several adjustments in the equipment were also required to ensure safe use by older people. The inclusion of outdoor equipment for older people in public spaces or urban parks is important and careful consideration needs to be taken by local/public authorities to provide access, amenities and safety for all as well as activities to suit all ages. SO WHAT?: Seniors' exercise parks can be installed in public places and may provide an enjoyable and effective approach to engage older individuals in a more active and healthier lifestyle.

Methodological and clinical implications of a three-in-one Russian doll design for tracking health trajectories and improving health and function through innovative exercise treatments in adults with disability

BackgroundHybrid research designs targeting adults with neurologic disability are critical for improving the efficiency of models that can identify, track and intervene on identified health issues.MethodsOur Russian doll framework encompasses three study phases. Phase 1 involves prospectively following a cohort of participants with disability to examine the relationships between rates of health and functional deficits (e.g., pain, fatigue, deconditioning), functional measures (e.g., cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, balance), and environmental and sociocultural factors. In Phase 2, eligible participants with neurologic disability from Phase 1 (in our example, individuals with multiple sclerosis) are screened and randomized to a clinical exercise efficacy trial. In Phase 3, study participants are enrolled in a home-based teleexercise trial to test the feasibility and replicability of delivering the clinical exercise study in the home.DiscussionThis unique three-in-one Russian doll framework serves as a foundation for informing and guiding researchers and clinicians in treating certain health and functional deficits in people with neurologic disability using exercise as a primary treatment modality in both the clinical and home settings. It offers a unique perspective for understanding the critical issues of functioning, health maintenance and quality of life for people with neurologic disability across a longitudinal framework.Trial registrationStudy 2 ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02533882 (retroactively registered 03/06/2015). Study 3 ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03108950 (retroactively registered 04/05/2017).

‘If this was real … ’: researching student meaning making in a digital rolling role drama

ABSTRACTThis article explores the interplay of the ‘live’ experience of drama learning in the classroom and curated digital content on learner meaning making, collaborative creation and subjectivities. It examines a case study conducted in an inner-city secondary school in Sydney, Australia, as part of a larger innovative international collaborative drama exercise entitled ‘The Water Reckoning Project’ (http://www.water-reckoning.net) which focussed on sustainability education. Data collected and analysed included ethnographic observations, video documentation and digital curation of students’ creative work, focus groups, and pre- and post-surveys. Findings of this study reveal the importance of the aesthetically charged, embodied experience of drama as the key driver of learning when integrating drama with digital technologies. This unique project enabled students to critically and creatively engage with significant real and fictional contexts, as well as issues of local and global relevance.

Assessment of an Innovative Medication Adherence Training Exercise in an Interprofessional Training Program

Assessment of an Innovative Medication Adherence Training Exercise in an Interprofessional Training Program

Promoting active ageing through a physical exercise program aimed at reducing frailty and risk of falling among older adults

Introduction: Risk of falling and frailty have been revealed as the most important conditions causing dependency among older people [1]. Older adults taking physical activity regularly can benefit of a proper maintenance of muscle strength and mass, which helps to retain function and independence, and to prevent falls and other injuries [2]. Concretely, the effectiveness of balance and strength training programs on the reduction of falls [3] and frailty [4] has been sufficiently proved. Theory/Methods: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of an intervention based on a physical exercise program addressed at 65+ people suffering from risk of falling and frailty, and ultimately aimed at promoting active and healthy ageing. A physical exercise program composed by balance and strength training has been designed and implemented twice a week during 9 months. From a total of 60 exercises conforming the program, 34 are based on the OTAGO program, with largely proven effectiveness [3], and 26 have been designed in the frame of this research by a physiotherapist, who was responsible for the implementation. The 60 exercises comprise a total of ten 45-minute exercises routines of 6 exercises. An interventional longitudinal study was carried out with 55 community-dwelling older adults. Participants were assessed at baseline for frailty (Tilburg Frailty Index), risk of falling (history of falls) and physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery). Participants were assesses with the same instruments after attending the program. Results: The comparison of the conditions (frailty and risk of falling) as well as physical performance at baseline and 9 months later was performed using paired samples t-test and McNemar’s test. After the intervention, participants showed a significant reduction in frailty (p Discussions: The intervention program composed of balance and strength training produced a decrease in the incidence of falls, and improved the frailty levels and the physical performance in older adults who presented frailty and/or risk of falling before the intervention. It should be emphasized that the physical performance enhancements observed in the participants of the present study occurred primarily in balance, and in lesser extent in muscle strength and gait ability. This result is aligned with the research confirming balance as a key element in falls [3, 5]. Conclusions: (comprising key findings) The physical exercise program design and implemented in the frame of this research is an effective intervention for frailty and falls prevention among 65+ community-dwelling older adults. Lessons learned: The intervention yearns to contribute to a shift to preventive care with an innovative physical exercise program for older people which focuses on the promotion of active and healthy ageing by reducing the number of older dependents and, thus, increasing the quality of life among older adults. Limitations: The present study has several limitations. The study sample is not representative of the Valencian older population, as it is based only on a Valencian district which does not permit the results to be generalized. Another limitation is the absence of a control group. Suggestions for future research Despite there is enough evidence of effectiveness of falls prevention programs, the commitment of policy-makers and care providers to their implementation of these programs is still a pending issue.

Negotiation Skill Development Exercise

Conflict occurs naturally in all marketing related activities. When such conflict is handled well through proper negotiation, it helps solve problems and build stronger, deeper relationships between the negotiating parties. Nevertheless, many students feel uneasy about negotiating, yet they know it is a crucial skill that needs to be developed. This innovative exercise provides students an experiential learning opportunity to apply their selected negotiation approach in a role-play assessment activity. Furthermore, incorporating it into the course curriculum has consistently resulted in an increase in student satisfaction and perceived learning.

Innovative exercise device for the abdominal trunk muscles: An early validation study.

BackgroundExercise is one of the few treatments that provide significant improvements in chronic low back pain (CLBP). We developed an innovative exercise device for abdominal trunk muscles. This device can be used in a sitting or standing position and contains a built-in system to measure abdominal trunk muscle strength. We examined whether subjects can adequately use the device to perform the exercises and measure their abdominal trunk muscle strength.MethodsWe collected data on the body height, body weight, body mass index, and girth of 30 healthy male volunteers, and measured their grip power and trunk extensor muscle strength using a dynamometer. The volunteers performed a sit-up test as an indicator of trunk flexor muscle strength, and we measured their abdominal muscle strength using the device. We then evaluated the correlations between abdominal trunk muscle strength and anthropometric parameters as well as the strength of other muscles. In subsequent tests, 5 of the 30 subjects participated in two positron emission tomography (PET) series consisting of examinations after a resting period (control study) and during exercise (exercise study). For the exercise study, the subjects performed 2 sets of exercises for 20 minutes using the device before and after an injection of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). PET-computed tomography images were obtained 60 minutes after FDG injection in each study. We compared the skeletal muscle metabolism of the participants in both studies using the standardized uptake value.ResultsThe muscle strength measured by the device and the 30-second sit-up frequency were correlated. FDG accumulation within the diaphragm and abdominal rectus muscles was significantly higher in the exercise study.ConclusionOur innovative exercise device facilitates a coordinated contraction of the abdominal trunk muscles at the anterior aspect and the roof of the core, and enables subjects to measure the strength of these muscles.

Smart power and public diplomacy: A Costa Rican approach

This article questions the universality of smart power and substantiates the pertinence of a Costa Rican approach when facing the challenge to generate a Public Diplomacy strategy. The theoretical and empirical analysis of the investigation allows determining the suitability of soft power to provide Public Diplomacy with epistemic consistency in a Small State lacking armed forces such as Costa Rica, which currently is considering to create a Public Diplomacy strategy. To test Nye’s hypothesis, a non-probabilistic exploratory approach was conducted between 2013 and 2014 with 40 career diplomatic officials (representing 20 per cent of the total amount of career officials), as an innovative exercise, considering the extensive academic literature review carried out for this study.

Brain train to combat brain drain; focus on exercise strategies that optimize neuroprotection.

What is the topic of this review? The topic of this review is to consider innovative exercise strategies that optimize neuroprotection in order to combat cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease in older age. What advances does it highlight? The review summarizes current understanding around exercise mode, duration, frequency and intensity, and then highlights adaptive roles of select stressors that have equal if not indeed greater capacity than exercise per se to induce health-related adaptation in the brain. These stressors include, but are not exclusively limited to, hydrostatic and thermal stress, hypoxia, nutritional supplementation and cognitive loading, and are effective by targeting specific pathways that collectively contribute towards improved brain structure and function. The prevalence of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. stroke and dementia) is increasing. Numerous studies show that regular exercise has beneficial effects on brain health in clinical and non-clinical populations, yet adherence to public health exercise guidelines is notoriously poor. Recently, novel exercise strategies have been investigated to allow for more individualized and prescriptive approaches that target the key mechanistic pathways that allow exercise to mediate adaptation. This work exploring alternative approaches to the traditional model of exercise training has demonstrated exciting potential for positive health-related adaptations (especially for metabolic, muscle and cardiovascular function). However, few studies to date have focused on brain adaptations. The aim of this review is to summarize new and innovative interventions that have the potential to optimize exercise for improved brain health (i.e. brain structure and function). First, we briefly summarize current understanding of the nature whereby positive effects of exercise deliver their influence on the brain (i.e. underlying mechanisms and factors affecting its delivery). Second, we introduce the effects of exercise training on cognition and give examples of studies showing the beneficial effects of exercise in clinical populations. Finally, we explore the adaptive roles of individual stressors that may induce greater health-related adaptations in the brain than exercise alone, including environmental stressors (hydrostatic stress, thermal stress and hypoxia), nutritional supplementation and cognitive loading. In summary, optimized interventions that target key mechanistic pathways linked to improved brain structure and function could ultimately protect against and/or ameliorate cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases.

Objectively Measured Aerobic and Resistance Exercise and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Response

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of objectively measured weekly exercise weight (EW) lifted and exercise heart beats (EHB) during exercise training on changes in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. METHODS: We randomized 31 pre-to-stage 1 hypertensive (not on medication), overweight/obese, and sedentary non-smokers (58±8 years) into an aerobic training (AT) only (n=16) or a resistance training (RT) only (n=15) 8 week exercise intervention. Participants exercised 3 days/week for 60 min/session. An innovative exercise training system and software (TechnoGym) captured EW lifted and EHB automatically each session. Total weekly EW lifted was calculated as the sum of weight x repetitions x sets for each exercise, averaged over 8 weeks, then divided by body weight (lbs). Total weekly EHB were calculated by the sum of exercise heart rate x min/session/week, with resting heart rate x minutes of exercise subtracted. We measured peripheral and central blood pressure (BP), % body fat, cardiorespiratory fitness, bench and leg press 1 repetition maximum (1RM), and blood lipids at baseline and 8-weeks. Individual CVD risk factors were standardized as sex specific z-scores for each participant and the mean was used to establish an overall clustered CVD risk score. Data was analyzed using Pearson correlation and linear mixed models adjusting for age, sex, and average daily steps. RESULTS: The average weekly EW and EHB were 220±68 lbs and 7004±1419 beats, respectively. Regression analysis showed a reduction in overall CVD risk score by -0.25 (p = 0.06) per 100 lbs lifted relative to body weight with RT and -0.1 (p=0.16) per 1000 beats with AT. With RT, we found strong correlations between total EW and changes in peripheral systolic (r=-0.45, p=0.09) and diastolic BP (r=-0.59, p=0.02), central systolic (r=-0.47, p=0.08) and diastolic BP (r=-0.53, p=0.04), and leg press 1RM (r=0.62, p=0.01). With AT, strong correlations with total EHB were noted with change in triglyceride levels (r=-0.50, p=0.049). CONCLUSIONS: In individuals at high risk of developing CVD, increased total EW lifted and EHB are associated with improved overall CVD risk, especially peripheral and central BP with greater EW lifted, and triglyceride levels for additional EHB. Supported by Iowa State University College of Human Sciences seed grant.

Incorporating emotional geography into climate change research: A case study in Londonderry, Vermont, USA

The influence of emotional knowledge upon the ways people experience and understand climate change is increasingly recognized within geographic scholarship; however, limited research considers the potential of emotion to prompt adaptation. Drawing upon literature of emotional geography, social dimensions of climate change, and public participation, this study illustrates the role of emotion in a public participation exercise in Londonderry, Vermont – a small town struggling to recover from Tropical Storm Irene. As a member of an interdisciplinary design team that facilitated a workshop on flood resilience and adaptive design in Londonderry, I witnessed an innovative exercise that employed storytelling, emotion, and body movement. This activity, which I term ‘emotive-physical storytelling’, created a foundation of trust and interpersonal connection that facilitators and residents built upon to plan for flood resiliency. Contrary to recent accounts of the ways that negative emotional responses can cause inaction in the face of climate change, this paper argues that creative public participation methods can generate positive emotions such as hope, responsibility, care, and solidarity. Such emotions have the potential to inspire adaptive action and produce transformative change.

Medical Surge Capacity in Atlanta-Area Hospitals in Response to Tanker Truck Chemical Releases

We designed and conducted a regional full-scale exercise in 2007 to test the ability of Atlanta-area hospitals and community partners to respond to a terrorist attack involving the coordinated release of 2 dangerous chemicals (toluene diisocyanate and parathion) that were being transported through the area by tanker truck. The exercise was designed to facilitate the activation of hospital emergency response plans and to test applicable triage, decontamination, and communications protocols. Plume modeling was conducted by using the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC) V4 program. The scenario went through multiple iterations as exercise planners sought to reduce total injuries to a manageable, but stressful, level for Atlanta's health care infrastructure. Atlanta-area hospitals rapidly performed multiple casualty triage and were able to take in a surge of victims from the simulated attack. However, health care facilities were reticent to push the perceived manageable numbers of victims, and scenarios were modified significantly to lower the magnitude of the simulated attack. Additional coordination with community response partners and incident command training is recommended. Security at health care facilities and decontamination of arriving victims are two areas that will require continued review. Atlanta-area hospitals participated in an innovative regional exercise that pushed facilities beyond traditional scopes of practice and brought together numerous health care community response partners. Using lessons learned from this exercise coupled with subsequent real-world events and training exercises, participants have significantly enhanced preparedness levels and increased the metropolitan region's medical surge capacity in the case of a multiple casualty disaster.

Step Your Game Up

Sociology has many theoretical concepts educators attempt to get undergraduate students to grasp. As technology, popular culture, and our students evolve, educators must create new and innovative approaches to reach our students and keep them interested in the subject matter. This article describes an innovative exercise used to get students to actively participate in sociological explication, critique, and debate. In a Sociology of Hip-Hop course, the author uses the format of the Hip-Hop Rap Battle to engage students in sociological competition.

Exercise Biology and Medicine: Innovative Research to Improve Global Health

The purpose of this Commentary is to emphasize the powerful impact rigorous, interdisciplinary exercise medicine research can have on clinical practice and public health policy. Because exercise profoundly influences virtually all aspects of human biology, research on dose-response relationships, exercise-drug/device interactions, exercise genomics, personalized medicine, disease and population specificity, and behavioral medicine offers enormous potential for novel insights into health and disease. With this core concept in mind, here we: (i) briefly summarize the opposing powers of exercise and chronic inactivity; and (ii) discuss the decided advantages of innovative exercise research to advance translational science and ultimately global health.

The effectiveness of a combined exercise intervention on physical fitness factors related to falls in community-dwelling older adults

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative exercise program on muscle strength, balance, and gait kinematics in elderly community-dwellers. The exercise program included strength and balance training and the 8-form Tai Chi Chuan. The measurements were carried out at baseline and 12 weeks, and consisted of four physical performance tests, joint isokinetic strength tests, and three-dimensional gait analysis. Fifty-six community-dwelling older adults aged 60–80 years old were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. After 12 weeks, the intervention group showed a 17.6% improvement in the timed up and go test, accompanied by a 54.7% increase in the 30-second chair stand test score. Significant increases in the score of star excursion balance tests, and the strength of the extensor and flexor muscles at knee and ankle joints were also observed. In addition, the intervention group walked at a faster speed with a longer step length, shorter support phase, and a greater sagittal plane range of motion at the hip and ankle joints. No statistical improvements were seen in the control group. This study provided an effective, evidence-based falls prevention program that can be implemented in community settings to improve physical fitness and reduce fall risks among community-dwelling older adults. The star excursion balance test could be a sensitive measure of physical performance for fall risk assessment in older people.

Recent advances in cardiac rehabilitation

Cardiac rehabilitation has been established as an effective treatment for patients with ischemic heart disease for many years. Despite this, utilization remains low. The purpose of this article is to review the latest research on the benefit, utilization, and implementation of cardiac rehabilitation. Recent research is supportive of the beneficial effects of cardiac rehabilitation in patients with heart failure as well as in older patients. Unfortunately, cardiac rehabilitation continues to be considerably underutilized with poor referral and enrollment rates. Implementing quality performance measures, automated referral systems, and the option of home-based cardiac rehabilitation for some patients may all help to increase participation. In addition, innovative exercise training regimens may help to enhance the beneficial effects of cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehabilitation appears beneficial in an increasing array of cardiovascular diseases. Ongoing efforts to improve its use are essential for optimal disease management.

Beneficial effects of an innovative exercise model on motor and oxidative disorders induced by haloperidol in rats

Here we evaluate the influence of a new exercise protocol on movement disorders induced by neuroleptic drugs. In this animal model, involuntary movements are closely related to neuronal degeneration and oxidative stress (OS) that can be caused by pre-synaptic D2 receptor blockade increasing dopamine (DA) metabolism. The increase in vacuous chewing movements (VCM) and the reduced locomotor activity induced by haloperidol treatment (12 mg/kg-im, once a week for 4 weeks) was prevented by exercise, 5 times per week, which was initiated four weeks before the first haloperidol administration. Exercise training also prevented the increase of haloperidol-induced lipid peroxidation in the cortex and subcortical region and recovered the catalase activity in the subcortical region. There was a negative correlation between catalase activity in the subcortical region and the VCM frequency (r = 0.50, p < 0.05), as well as a positive correlation between VCM frequency and lipid peroxidation in the cortex (r = 0.64, p < 0.05) and subcortical region (r = 0.71, p < 0.0001). Both haloperidol and exercise increased DA uptake in the striatum, while the co-treatment (exercise plus haloperidol) reduced it. The striatal DA uptake correlated negatively with catalase activity (r = 0.51, p < 0.05), indicating a relationship between oxidative damage and the function of the transporter in the striatum. Our findings show that physical exercise can modulate dopamine uptake, especially when it is altered, and reveal the benefit of this new exercise protocol in the prevention of movement disorders related to oxidative damage.

A flourishing of fish forms

According to an innovative exercise in 'morphospace analysis', modern fish owe their stunning diversity in part to an ecological cleaning of the slate by the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous.