Search

Breast cancer treatments can elicit negative kinesiological side effects concerning both the posture and functional status of breast cancer survivors. As our body is functionally organized in myofascial meridians, physical exercise practice should favor a whole-body approach rather than a local one. The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the effects of two whole-body disciplines, i.e., adapted Nordic Walking and myofascial exercise, on the flexibility and strength performances in BCS. One hundred and sixty breast cancer survivors were trained three times per week for 12 weeks through adapted Nordic Walking or myofascial exercise. Handgrip, sit and reach, back scratch, and single leg back bridge tests and body composition were assessed at the beginning and completion of the training period. Linear mixed models showed no significant changes in body composition, whereas flexibility (p < 0.001), strength (p < 0.001), and muscle quality index (p = 0.003) changed independently from the treatment. When data modification has been analyzed according to sub-sample membership, no significant differences have been observed. Age, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy seem to have independent effects on several investigated variables. Twelve weeks of adapted myofascial exercise and Nordic Walking led to significant changes in flexibility, strength, and muscle quality in breast cancer survivors, with no apparent superiority of one approach over the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In breast cancer survivors (BCS), the contemporaneous increase of sedentary time and reduction of physical activity (PA) requires early attention because it has negative consequences for their health. Aims of the study were to investigate: a) the correlations between PA, sedentarism, and health-related measures; b) the association between different patterns of daily activity and health-related outcomes. Two hundred and nineteen BCS (50.98 ± 6.28) were selected for this study. Psychological, anthropometric, endocrine, sleeping, and both daily sedentary time and PA variables were considered. Sedentarism and PA have opposite correlations with anthropometric variables, anxiety, depression, morning salivary cortisol, and sleeping characteristics. The first favors pathological values and the latter favors normal values. Regression tree analysis showed the impact of different daily sedentary time and PA combinations on the investigated variables and allowed the individualization of their optimal combination for health. Our results could be useful to healthcare providers and BCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to compare the effects of weekly personal feedback, based on objectively measured physical activity, on daily sleep in breast cancer survivors (BCS) with those of an intervention that also included online supervised physical exercise sessions (OSPES). BCS benefiting from both personal feedback and OSPES (n = 24), from pre-lockdown (T0) to the first month (T1) of the national lockdown, experienced an increase in both total (p ≤ 0.001) and restorative (p ≤ 0.001) sleep time, inverting their trend from the first month of lockdown to its end (total sleeping time T1 vs. T2 0.01 ≤ p <.001, T1 vs. T3 p ≤ 0.001; restorative sleeping time T1 vs. T2 0.05 ≤ p <.01, T1 vs. T3 p ≤ 0.001). Supportive technology, together with the reception of weekly tailored advice and OSPES seems to improve both quality and quantity of sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: High-intensity aerobic interval training (AIT) has been reported to be more effective than continuous aerobic training (CoAT) to improve metabolic health. The aim of our study was to investigate whether moderate-intensity AIT is more effective than CoAT on metabolic health when applied to a walking training program. Design/Metliods: Thirty-two postmenopausal women (55.37 ± 3.46 years) were investigated for body composition, plasma glucose, insulin, lipids, adiponectin, HOMA-IR, HOMA-AD, aerobic fitness, dietary habits, and spontaneous physical activity, and randomly assigned to one of two different walking training programs: CoAT or AIT. Results: CoAT and AIT elicited the same physiological benefits, including: reduction of plasma glucose, insulin. HOMA-IR and HOMA-AD, and increase of plasma HDL-C, adiponectin, and aerobic fitness. Conclusions: An AIT scheme as part of an outdoor walking training program elicits the same physiological adaptations as a CoAT scheme, probably because walking does not promote exercise intensities that elicit greater effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature indicates that the plasma cortisol-to-dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) ratio is a marker of health status after menopause, when a decline in both estrogen and DHEA-S and an increase in cortisol occur. An increase in the cortisol-to-DHEA-S ratio has been positively correlated with metabolic syndrome, all-cause mortality, cancer, and other diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a walking program on the plasma cortisol-to-DHEA-S ratio in postmenopausal women. Fifty-one postmenopausal women participated in a 13-week supervised walking program, in the metropolitan area of Pescara (Italy), from June to September 2013. Participants were evaluated in April-May and September-October of the same year. The linear mixed model showed that the variation of the log10Cortisol-to-log10DHEA-S ratio was associated with the volume of exercise (p = .03). Participants having lower adherence to the walking program did not have a significantly modified log10Cortisol or log10DHEA-S, while those having the highest adherence had a significant reduction in log10Cortisol (p = .016) and a nearly significant increase in log10DHEA-S (p = .084). Walking training appeared to reduce the plasma log10Cortisol-to-log10DHEA-S ratio, although a minimum level of training was necessary to achieve this significant reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]