Back pain: Prevention and management in the workplace

 

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2015 Jun;29(3):483-94. doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2015.04.028. Epub 2015 May 31.

Back pain: Prevention and management in the workplace.

Schaafsma FG1, Anema JR2, van der Beek AJ3.

Author information

1Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Centre for Insurance Medicine, Collaboration Between AMC-UMCG-UWV-VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: f.schaafsma@vumc.nl.
2Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Centre for Insurance Medicine, Collaboration Between AMC-UMCG-UWV-VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
3Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Centre for Insurance Medicine, Collaboration Between AMC-UMCG-UWV-VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Body@Work, Research Center Physical Activity, Work and Health, TNO-VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Despite all the efforts in studying work-related risk factors for low back pain (LBP), interventions targeting these risk factors to prevent LBP have no proven cost-effectiveness. Even with adequate implementation strategies for these interventions on group level, these did not result in the reduction of incident LBP. Physical exercise, however, does have a primary preventive effect on LBP.
For secondary prevention, it seems that there are more opportunities to cost-effectively intervene in reducing the risk of long-term sickness absence due to LBP.
Starting at the earliest moment possible with proper assessment of risk factors for long-term sickness absence related to the individual, the underlying mechanisms of the LBP, and also factors related to the workplace by a well-trained clinician, may increase the potential of effective return to work (RTW) management.
More research on how to overcome barriers in the uptake of these effective interventions in relation to policy-specific environments, and with regard to proper financing of RTW management is necessary.
Source

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Even if they exercise, heart disease patients who sit a lot have worse health

 

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

Ottawa, November 25, 2015 – Patients with heart disease who sit a lot have worse health even if they exercise, reveals research from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, and published today in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention.1
“Get up and move every 30 minutes to improve health.”
“Limiting the amount of time we spend sitting may be as important as the amount we exercise,” said lead author Dr Stephanie Prince, post-doctorate fellow in the Division of Prevention and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “Sitting, watching TV, working at a computer and driving in a car are all sedentary behaviours and we need to take breaks from them.”
Previous research has shown that being sedentary increases the risk of cardiovascular disease but until now its effect on patients with established heart disease was unknown.
The current study investigated levels of sedentary behaviour and the effect on health in 278 patients with coronary artery disease. The patients had been through a cardiac rehabilitation programme which taught them how to improve their levels of exercise in the long term.
Patients wore an activity monitor during their waking hours for nine days. The monitors allowed the researchers to measure how long patients spent being sedentary, or doing light, moderate or vigorous levels of physical activity.
The researchers also assessed various markers of health including body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2) and cardiorespiratory fitness. Next they looked at whether the amount of time a person spent being sedentary (which was mainly sitting) was related to these markers of health.
The researchers found that patients with coronary artery disease spent an average of eight hours each day being sedentary. “This was surprising given that they had taken classes on how to exercise more,” said Dr Prince. “We assumed they would be less sedentary but they spent the majority of their day sitting.”
Men spent more time sitting than women – an average of one hour more each day. This was primarily because women tended to do more light intensity movement – things like light housework, walking to the end of the drive, or running errands.
Dr Prince said: “Women with coronary artery disease spend less time sitting for long periods but we need to do more research to understand why. There is some research from the past which suggests that at around the age of 60 men become more sedentary than women and may watch more TV.”
The researchers found that patients who sat more had a higher BMI. They also had lower cardiorespiratory fitness, which was assessed using VO2 peak. This is the maximum rate at which the heart, lungs and muscles use oxygen during an exercise test (also called aerobic capacity).
“These relationships remained even when we controlled for an individual’s age, gender or physical activity levels,” said Dr Prince. “In other words, people who sat for longer periods were heavier and less fit regardless of how much they exercised.”
Practical tips to get moving:

• Get up and move every 30 minutes
• Stand up during TV commercials or, even better, do light exercises while watching TV
• Set a timer and take regular breaks from your desk
• Take lunch breaks outside instead of in front of the computer
• Go to bed instead of sitting in front of the TV and get the benefits of sleeping
• Monitor your activity patterns to find out when you are most sedentary.

Dr Prince emphasized that sitting less was not a replacement for exercise. “It’s important to limit prolonged bouts of sitting and in addition to be physically active,” she said. “Sedentary time may be another area of focus for cardiac rehabilitation programmes along with exercise.”
Source

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tryouts for THE UPcOMINg SEASON OF The Ultimate Fighter® CURRENTLY open to three weight classes

 

 

 

tryouts for THE UPcOMINg SEASON OF

The Ultimate Fighter^® CURRENTLY open to three weight classes

 

WOMEN’s STRAWWEIGHT AND BANTAMWEIGHT

Men’s LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

 

Tryouts to be held in Las Vegas on Monday, December 14

 

Las Vegas, Nevada – UFC^® announces tryouts for the upcoming season of its long-running successful reality series, The Ultimate Fighter^®, at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. on Monday, December 14. This season’s tryouts are currently open to both 115- and 135-pound women, as well as 205-pound men, with winning professional records.

 

This season of The Ultimate Fighter will begin filming in January and is scheduled to premiere on FS1 in April 2016.

 

Candidates must be between the ages of 21 and 34 years of age, have the legal ability to live and work in the United States, and have professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight experience – holding a winning record with a minimum of three professional fights (with verifiable records). Applications, which should be completed and brought to the tryouts, can be found online at http://www.ufc.com/TUF23. Tryout details are provided below:

 

Where:

Red Rock Casino

11011 W. Charleston Blvd.

Las Vegas, Nevada 89135

 

When:

Monday, December 14, 2015

Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. PT

 

Fighters will be required to grapple & hit pads. Please bring appropriate gear.

 

*Applicants will be notified at the end of the day if they have been selected to move on in the casting process. If selected, applicants must be prepared to stay in Las Vegas until Saturday, December 19, 2015.

 

Questions can be directed to: TUFcasting@ufc.com

    

The Ultimate Fighter^®, which debuted in 2005, has launched the careers of some of the UFC’s most recognizable names and successful athletes. The series has produced champions such as Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, TJ Dillashaw, Carla Esparza and Matt Serra, as well as season winners Michael Bisping, Ryan Bader, Nate Diaz and John Dodson.

 

For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @UltimateFighter or on Facebook.com/TUF.

 

###

 

About UFC^®

UFC^® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 158 countries and territories to over one billion TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter^® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS^®, a digital subscription service that is available throughout the world with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM^® locations, and owns UFC.TV^® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT^® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club^®, UFC Fan Expo^®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

 

Carbohydrate Dependence During Prolonged, Intense Endurance Exercise

 

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

 

Sports Med. 2015 Nov 9. [Epub ahead of print]

Carbohydrate Dependence During Prolonged, Intense Endurance Exercise.
Hawley JA1,2, Leckey JJ3.

Author information

1The Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Centre for Exercise and Nutrition, Australian Catholic University, Locked Bag 4115, Fitzroy, VIC, 3065, Australia. John.hawley@acu.edu.au.
2Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK. John.hawley@acu.edu.au.
3The Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Centre for Exercise and Nutrition, Australian Catholic University, Locked Bag 4115, Fitzroy, VIC, 3065, Australia.

Abstract

A major goal of training to improve the performance of prolonged, continuous, endurance events lasting up to 3 h is to promote a range of physiological and metabolic adaptations that permit an athlete to work at both higher absolute and relative power outputs/speeds and delay the onset of fatigue (i.e., a decline in exercise intensity).
To meet these goals, competitive endurance athletes undertake a prodigious volume of training, with a large proportion performed at intensities that are close to or faster than race pace and highly dependent on carbohydrate (CHO)-based fuels to sustain rates of muscle energy production [i.e., match rates of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis with rates of resynthesis].
Consequently, to sustain muscle energy reserves and meet the daily demands of training sessions, competitive athletes freely select CHO-rich diets.
Despite renewed interest in high-fat, low-CHO diets for endurance sport, fat-rich diets do not improve training capacity or performance, but directly impair rates of muscle glycogenolysis and energy flux, limiting high-intensity ATP production.
When highly trained athletes compete in endurance events lasting up to 3 h, CHO-, not fat-based fuels are the predominant fuel for the working muscles and CHO, not fat, availability becomes rate limiting for performance.

  

Source

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Re-Examining High-Fat Diets for Sports Performance

 

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

Sports Med. 2015 Nov 9. [Epub ahead of print]
Re-Examining High-Fat Diets for Sports Performance: Did We Call the ‘Nail in the Coffin’ Too Soon?

Burke LM1,2.

Author information

1Sports Nutrition, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, ACT, Australia. louise.burke@ausport.gov.au.
2Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. louise.burke@ausport.gov.au.

Abstract

During the period 1985-2005, studies examined the proposal that adaptation to a low-carbohydrate (60 % energy) diet (LCHF) to increase muscle fat utilization during exercise could enhance performance in trained individuals by reducing reliance on muscle glycogen.

As little as 5 days of training with LCHF retools the muscle to enhance fat-burning capacity with robust changes that persist despite acute strategies to restore carbohydrate availability (e.g., glycogen supercompensation, carbohydrate intake during exercise).

Furthermore, a 2- to 3-week exposure to minimal carbohydrate (<20 g/day) intake achieves adaptation to high blood ketone concentrations.

However, the failure to detect clear performance benefits during endurance/ultra-endurance protocols, combined with evidence of impaired performance of high-intensity exercise via a down-regulation of carbohydrate metabolism led this author to dismiss the use of such fat-adaptation strategies by competitive athletes in conventional sports.

Recent re-emergence of interest in LCHF diets, coupled with anecdotes of improved performance by sportspeople who follow them, has created a need to re-examine the potential benefits of this eating style.

Unfortunately, the absence of new data prevents a different conclusion from being made.
Notwithstanding the outcomes of future research, there is a need for better recognition of current sports nutrition guidelines that promote an individualized and periodized approach to fuel availability during training, allowing the athlete to prepare for competition performance with metabolic flexibility and optimal utilization of all muscle substrates.

Nevertheless, there may be a few scenarios where LCHF diets are of benefit, or at least are not detrimental, for sports performance.

Source

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Effects of Exercise on Sleep Among Young Women With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

 

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

Ment Health Phys Act. 2015 Oct 1;9:59-66.

Effects of Exercise on Sleep Among Young Women With Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Herring MP1, Kline CE2, O’Connor PJ3.

Author information

1Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, PESS1045, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland ; Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
2Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O’Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
3Department of Kinesiology, The University of Georgia, 330 River Road, Athens, GA 30602.

Abstract

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and disturbed sleep are prevalent, debilitating, and frequently comorbid problems for which successful treatment remains limited. Exercise can promote sleep but whether it does among GAD patients is unknown.

METHODS:

Thirty sedentary women (18-37y) with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of GAD were randomized to six weeks of resistance (RET) or aerobic exercise training (AET), or waitlist (WL). RET and AET involved twice-weekly sessions of either lower-body weightlifting or leg cycling matched on multiple features of exercise. Outcomes included total sleep time (TST), lights out time, awakening out of bed time, time in bed (TIB), sleep onset latency (SOL), wakefulness after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency. Hedges’ d effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for each exercise condition compared to WL. Regression examined baseline associations between anxiety and sleep and associated change.

RESULTS:

Twenty-two of 26 participants reported poor baseline sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index >5). RET significantly decreased weekend TIB (d=-1.79; [-2.89, -0.70]) and SOL (d=-1.30; [-2.32, -0.28]), and significantly increased weekend sleep efficiency (d=1.30; [0.29,2.32]). AET significantly reduced weekend TIB (d=-1.13; [-2.16, -0.11]) and SOL (d=-1.08; [-2.09, -0.06]). Reduced GAD clinical severity rating was significantly associated with improved weekend sleep efficiency among RET (t 6=-3.48, p≤0.013).

CONCLUSIONS:

Short-term exercise training improves sleep outcomes among GAD patients, especially for RET and weekend sleep. Findings suggest improved sleep may be associated with reduced clinical severity among GAD patients.

Source

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Fitter legs linked to a ‘fitter’ brain

 

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

Researchers at King’s College London have found that muscle fitness as measured by power in the legs is strongly associated with an improved rate of ageing in the brain.

The findings, published in Gerontology, suggest that simple interventions, such as increased levels of walking, targeted to improve leg power in the long term may have an impact on healthy cognitive ageing. The research was funded jointly by the NIHR and the Wellcome Trust.

 

Scientists studied a sample of 324 healthy female twins from the TwinsUK volunteer registry over a ten-year period from 1999, measuring various health and lifestyle predictors. Researchers were, therefore, able to control for genetic factors affecting changes in cognitive function.

 

Thinking, learning and memory were measured at both the beginning and end of the study and it was found that leg power was a better predictor of cognitive change than any other lifestyle factors tested. Generally, the twin who had more leg power at the start of the study sustained their cognition better and had fewer brain changes associated with ageing measured after ten years.

 

Previous studies have shown that physical activity can have a beneficial effect on the ageing of the brain with animal studies showing that exercising muscles releases hormones that can encourage nerve cells to grow.

 

The study is thought to be the first that shows a specific link between power (i.e. force and speed) in the lower limbs and cognitive change in a normal, healthy population. As the legs contain the largest muscles they are of particular relevance for muscular fitness and can be exercised easily through various habitual activities such as simply standing or walking.

 

Dr Claire Steves, lead author and Senior Lecturer in Twin Research at King’s College London and King’s College Hospital said: ‘Everyone wants to know how best to keep their brain fit as they age. Identical twins are a useful comparison, as they share many factors, such as genetics and early life, which we can’t change in adulthood.

 

‘It’s compelling to see such differences in cognition and brain structure in identical twins, who had different leg power ten years before. It suggests that simple lifestyle changes to boost our physical activity may help to keep us both mentally and physically healthy.’

 

However, more studies are needed to better understand the relationships between measures of fitness such as leg power or aerobic capacity and brain changes, and the specific cause-and-effect of physical activity on brain structure and cognition. The mechanisms behind this association are not yet clear and could involve other factors such as age-related changes in immune function, blood circulation or nerve signaling.

 

The study only assessed female participants with an average age at baseline of 55 (range 43–73), so further studies would also be needed to establish whether these findings can be generalized to older or male populations.

 

‘Kicking Back Cognitive Ageing: Leg Power Predicts Cognitive Ageing after Ten Years in Older Female Twins’ will be published online in Gerontology on Tuesday 10 November 2015

Source

 

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