Exercise professionals in extended scope of practice roles: a qualitative exploration of a new model of rehabilitation.

Background: There is a need to provide greater patient choice through accessible and sustainable rehabilitation for people with long-term conditions. New models of rehabilitation employing non-clinical healthcare workers in extended service practice roles are developing. Little research has investigated the experiences of non-clinical health workers, such as exercise professionals, in extended scope of practice roles.

Cool-Water Immersion Reduces Postexercise Quadriceps Femoris Muscle Perfusion More Than Cold-Water Immersion.

Purpose: The muscle perfusion response to postexercise cold-water immersion (CWI) is not well understood. We examined the effects of graded postexercise CWI upon global and regional quadriceps femoris muscle perfusion using positron emission tomography and [15O]H2O.

Methods: Using a matched-group design, 30 healthy men performed cycle ergometer exercise at 70% V̇O2peak to a core body temperature of 38°C, followed by either 10 min of CWI at 8°C, 22°C, or seated rest (control).

Ergogenic effect of pre-exercise chicken broth ingestion on a high-intensity cycling time-trial.

Background: chicken meat extract is a popular functional food in Asia. It is rich in the bioactive compounds carnosine and anserine, two histidine-containing dipeptides (HCD). Studies suggest that acute pre-exercise ingestion of chicken extracts has important applications towards exercise performance and fatigue control, but the evidence is equivocal.

Changes in quadriceps femoris muscle perfusion following different degrees of cold-water immersion.

We examined the influence of graded cold-water immersion (CWI) on global and regional quadriceps muscle perfusion with positron emission tomography (PET) and [O]HO. In 30 healthy men [33 ± 8 yr; 81 ± 10 kg; 184 ± 5 cm; percentage body fat: 13 ± 5%; peak oxygen uptake (V̇o): 47 ± 8 mL·kg·min] quadriceps perfusion, thigh and calf cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC), intestinal, muscle, and local skin temperatures, thermal comfort, mean arterial pressure, and heart rate were assessed before and after 10 min of CWI at 8°C, 15°C, or 22°C. Global quadriceps perfusion did not change beyond a clinically relevant threshold (0.

Evaluating the influence of differences in methodological approach on metabolic thresholds and fat oxidation points relationship.

In this study, we aimed to determine the exercise intensities eliciting the highest (FAT) and the lowest (FAT) fat oxidation rate in male cyclists and to compare these intensities with their individual aerobic (AeT) and anaerobic (AnT) thresholds, respectively. Twenty-two moderately trained male cyclists performed a 2-min stage graded exercise test until exhaustion using breath-by-breath gas analysis to determine maximal oxygen consumption (VO). The fat oxidation rate was calculated using a stoichiometric equation, with metabolic thresholds being determined by ventilatory gas analysis.

Historical reviews of the assessment of human cardiovascular function: interrogation and understanding of the control of skin blood flow.

Several techniques exist for the determination of skin blood flow that have historically been used in the investigation of thermoregulatory control of skin blood flow, and more recently, in clinical assessments or as an index of global vascular function. Skin blood flow measurement techniques differ in their methodology and their strengths and limitations. To examine the historical development of techniques for assessing skin blood flow by describing the origin, basic principles, and important aspects of each procedure and to provide recommendations for best practise.

Directional Change Mediates the Physiological Response to High-Intensity Shuttle Running in Professional Soccer Players.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence that different frequencies of deceleration and acceleration actions had on the physiological demands in professional soccer players. Thirteen players were monitored via microelectromechanical devices during shuttle running protocols which involved one, three, or seven 180 degree directional changes. Heart rate exertion (HRE) (1.

Diabetes Intervention Accentuating Diet and Enhancing Metabolism (DIADEM-I): a randomised controlled trial to examine the impact of an intensive lifestyle intervention consisting of a low-energy diet and physical activity on body weight and metabolism in early type 2 diabetes mellitus: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity are syndemic and will have a significant impact on affected individuals and healthcare services worldwide. Evidence shows that T2DM remission can be achieved with significant weight loss in those who are younger with early diabetes and requiring fewer medications for glycaemic control. DIADEM-I aims to examine the impact of an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) using a low-energy diet (LED) meal replacement approach combined with physical activity in younger individuals with early T2DM.

Basic science behind the cardiovascular benefits of exercise.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor of cardiovascular (CV) disease and all-cause mortality, with increases in cardiorespiratory fitness associated with corresponding decreases in CV disease risk. The effects of exercise upon the myocardium and vascular system are dependent upon the frequency, intensity and duration of the exercise itself. Following a prolonged period (≥6 months) of regular intensive exercise in previously untrained individuals, resting and submaximal exercising heart rates are typically 5-20 beats lower, with an increase in stroke volume of ∼20% and enhanced myocardial contractility.

Basic science behind the cardiovascular benefits of exercise.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor of cardiovascular (CV) disease and all-cause mortality, with increases in cardiorespiratory fitness associated with corresponding decreases in CV disease risk. The effects of exercise upon the myocardium and vascular system are dependent upon the frequency, intensity and duration of the exercise itself. Following a prolonged period (≥ 6 months) of regular intensive exercise in previously untrained individuals, resting and submaximal exercising heart rates are typically 5-20 beats lower, with an increase in stroke volume of ∼ 20% and enhanced myocardial contractility.

Basic science behind the cardiovascular benefits of exercise.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor of cardiovascular (CV) disease and all-cause mortality, with increases in cardiorespiratory fitness associated with corresponding decreases in CV disease risk. The effects of exercise upon the myocardium and vascular system are dependent upon the frequency, intensity and duration of the exercise itself. Following a prolonged period (≥6 months) of regular intensive exercise in previously untrained individuals, resting and submaximal exercising heart rates are typically 5-20 beats lower, with an increase in stroke volume of ∼20% and enhanced myocardial contractility.

Exercise training and artery function in humans: nonresponse and its relationship to cardiovascular risk factors.

The objectives of our study were to examine 1) the proportion of responders and nonresponders to exercise training in terms of vascular function; 2) a priori factors related to exercise training-induced changes in conduit artery function, and 3) the contribution of traditional cardiovascular risk factors to exercise-induced changes in artery function. We pooled data from our laboratories involving 182 subjects who underwent supervised, large-muscle group, endurance-type exercise training interventions with pre-/posttraining measures of flow-mediated dilation (FMD%) to assess artery function. All studies adopted an identical FMD protocol (5-min ischemia, distal cuff inflation), contemporary echo-Doppler methodology, and observer-independent automated analysis.

Exercise referral for drug users aged 40 and over: results of a pilot study in the UK.

Objectives: To test whether older drug users (aged 40 and over) could be recruited to an exercise referral (ER) scheme, to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability and measure the impact of participation on health.

Design: Observational pilot.

Setting: Liverpool, UK.

Endurance exercise training enhances cutaneous microvascular reactivity in post-menopausal women.

Objective: To compare cutaneous microvascular reactivity between untrained young and post-menopausal women, and assess the effects of 48 weeks of endurance exercise training on cutaneous microvascular reactivity in post-menopausal women.

Methods: Twenty post-menopausal and 12 young women completed this study. Using laser-Doppler flowmetry, an index of skin blood flow was measured on the forearm at rest, during post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia (PORH), and during localised heating to 42°C.

Heritability of arterial function, fitness, and physical activity in youth: a study of monozygotic and dizygotic twins.

Objectives: To examine the role of heredity in determining flow-mediated dilation in young people by comparing conduit artery endothelial function in monozygotic and dizygotic twins. We also determined relationships between physical activity and fitness in each twin subset.

Study Design: Flow-mediated dilation was assessed with high-resolution ultrasonography of the brachial artery in 22 twin pairs (11 monozygotic pairs 13.

Arterial compression during overhead throwing: a risk for arterial injury?

Case studies reporting aneurysm formation in the axillary artery have been described in overhead throwing athletes, possibly due to repetitive arterial compression by the humeral head that has been transiently observed during sonographic diagnostic arm manoeuvres. Whether compression negatively alters arterial health has not been investigated and was the focus of this study. The throwing arm of elite overhead athletes was screened for inducible axillary artery compression.

Seasonal reduction in physical activity and flow-mediated dilation in children.

Purpose: cardiovascular disease is a process that has its origins in childhood. Endothelial dysfunction is the earliest detectable manifestation of cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to assess the impact of seasonal changes in physical activity (PA) and body composition on conduit artery endothelial function in children.

The effect of 48 weeks of aerobic exercise training on cutaneous vasodilator function in post-menopausal females.

Skin blood flow (SkBF) and endothelial-dependent vasodilatation decline with ageing and can be reversed with exercise training. We tested whether 48 weeks of training could improve SkBF and endothelial function in post-menopausal females; 20 post-menopausal subjects completed the study. SkBF was measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF).

Lifestyle factors and colorectal cancer risk (1): systematic review and meta-analysis of associations with body mass index.

Objective: Excess body weight, defined by body mass index (BMI), may increase the risk of colorectal cancer. As a prerequisite to the determination of lifestyle attributable risks, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies to quantify colorectal cancer risk associated with increased BMI and explore for differences by gender, sub-site and study characteristics.

Method: We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE (to December 2007), and other sources, selecting reports based on strict inclusion criteria.