Research and News
Posts tagged elastic bands
Thera-Band® exercises improve kyphotic posture in women
Jul 22nd
It’s generally accepted that our posture declines as we age. Researchers at the University of Kansas Department of Physical Therapy examined the natural progression of thoracic kyphosis in healthy women. They found that kyphosis increases in females with age, particularly between 50 and 59 years of age. The researchers then established an exercise program for healthy women aged 50-59. For one year, 81 women were asked to perform spinal extension exercises including elastic band resistance (Click here to download the Spinal Extension Exercise protocol) 3 times per week. Cervical and thoracic spinal curves were measured before and after the program.
After 1 year, the researchers determined which women were compliant or non-compliant. The remaining women who had performed exercise irregularly were excluded (46 women) from analysis, leaving a total of 35 women in the analysis. The researchers found that those women who did not perform the exercises had a greater progression of poor posture, particularly increasing in thoracic kyphosis.
The researchers noted that these results are only applicable to relatively healthy women without spinal abnormalities. In addition, they suggested that women with symptomatic spinal stenosis should not perform these exercises. While these results are encouraging, poor compliance was an issue: only 18% consistently performed the exercises. More >
Thera-Band exercises effective for acute ankle sprains
Apr 20th
Ankle sprains are the most common injury in sports. Rehabilitation exercise after ankle sprains include active and resisted exercises, often performed with a Thera-Band® elastic band. Reduced ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) is considered to be a sign of significant injury and can affect gait and function.
Researchers at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota recruited patients with acute (within 4 days) Grade I or II ankle sprains. They were prescribed a 4 to 6 week home exercise program that included cold and compression, along with progressive resisted exercises using an elastic band. Patients performed resisted dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, inversion, and eversion with a yellow Thera-Band resistance band, completing 3 sets of 10-20 repetitions, one to two times per day. The patients progressed through the remainder of the Thera-Band color-coded progression (red, green, blue, black, and silver) as they improved in strength. Once the patients could perform 3 sets of 10-20 repetitions of resisted plantar flexion, they began calf raises. They also performed single-leg balance exercises including standing on foam pads. In addition to the Thera-Band and balance programs that the patients received, participants were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups of stretching the Achilles tendon on increase dorsiflexion. Each group performed 3 More >
The Best Exercises for Rotator Cuff Strengthening
Mar 2nd
For years, the debate has continued on the ‘best’ exercises for strengthening shoulder muscles. Using electromyography (EMG) to measure muscle activity, researchers have attempted to determine which exercises have the highest levels of muscles activity for strengthening exercises. Several studies have examined EMG of common shoulder exercises to find the best exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff; in particular, the supraspinatus muscle. The “empty can” or “full can” exercises have been the most commonly performed exercise for supraspinatus strengthening, but controversy still exists in the literature.
While high muscle activation levels are often desirable, what’s more important is the relative activation of other muscles during the movement. For example, Dr. Michael Reinold and colleagues suggested in their 2007 paper that a good rotator cuff exercise should produce the greatest supraspinatus activity while minimizing the deltoid activation. Theoretically, reducing deltoid activation decreases the upward shear of the humerus during arm elevation, which may be desirable when prescribing exercise to strengthen the suprapsinatus in impingement patients.
In a study published in Medicine and Science and Sports and Exercise, subjects performed 5 isometric exercises in random order while measuring the EMG activity of the deltoid, supraspinatus, and infraspinatus. The exercises were: full can, empty can, prone elevation, elastic external More >
Thera-Band® exercise helps improve bone density and reduce falls in osteoporosis
Feb 24th
It’s been well-established that exercise has numerous health benefits, yet it is only relatively recently that exercise has been shown safe and effective at improving health and quality of life in older adults.
Recent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and American College of Sports Medicine include strengthening exercises for older adults at least twice a week. Strength training can improve muscular strength, power and endurance in older adults. In addition, strength training can increase bone mass or decrease bone mass loss which is particularly important in women with osteoporosis. Falls in osteoporotic women in particular often lead to fractures of the hip, back, and arm.
Researchers in Germany set out to determine if a well-rounded exercise program that included Thera-Band® resistance bands would be effective at increasing bone density, decreasing falls, and improving cardiovascular risk factors in older women. In the study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 246 women over 65 years old were randomly assigned to either a high-intensity/low volume “well-rounded” exercise program, or a low-intensity “wellness” exercise control group. The 18 month exercise program included 2 group sessions per week and 2 home-based sessions per week.
The well-rounded exercise group protocol included cardiovascular warm-up exercises, upper body strengthening exercise using More >
Adding elastic resistance to free weight bench press better for muscular strength and power
Feb 18th
Free weight isotonic resistance using barbells continues to be the ‘gold standard’ for strength training for power lifting. Recently, strength and conditioning professionals have added elastic resistance to free-weight exercises such as the bench press and squat to increase strength, power and speed. The additional downward force of the band during the early phases of the lift provides increased eccentric loading which may provide greater stimulus for gains in strength and power. In theory, the greater eccentric velocities may shorten deceleration time, which may increase the rate of force development with training.
Adding ‘variable resistance training’ using elastic bands is also thought to provide increased resistance where the joints have more leverage in earlier phases of the lift, with decreasing loads during periods of less leverage near later phases of the movement such as the bottom of the squat. When reviewing the literature on the benefits of adding elastic resistance bands to free weight exercises, some studies suggest it improves strength and power, while others do not.
A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared traditional bench press training with and without the addition of external variable resistance loads (elastic bands and heavy chains). 36 Division-I AA football players were More >
