Research and News
Posts tagged exercise
Exercises help reduce back pain after prolonged standing
Jun 27th
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Prolonged standing often leads to low back pain, which can lead to occupational disability. Persons with low back pain after prolonged standing often have abnormal EMG activity of the gluteus medius and trunk flexor and extensor muscles. Researchers were interested to see if persons with low back pain after prolonged standing could reduce this pain after a progressive stabilization exercise program.
20 subjects with low back pain after prolonged standing were randomly assigned to an experimental or control exercise program. The 4-week home exercise program included 18 stabilization exercises targeting the abdominal, lower back, and gluteal muscles; one of the exercises was a standing row exercise with elastic resistance. Ten subjects performed exercises 4 times per week and attended one session per week supervised by a physical therapist. The other 10 control subjects did not exercise.
Subjects completing the home exercise program had significantly less low back pain during prolonged standing compared to the non-exercising control group. An exercise program of core stabilization exercises utilizing Thera-Band® elastic resistance may benefit patients with low back pain during prolonged standing, but more research is needed.
REFERENCE Nelson-Wong More >
Developing better exercise programs for breast cancer survivors
Jun 2nd
Breast cancer survivors are often left with fatigue from chemotherapy, as well as pain and decreased upper extremity range of motion after surgery. Several studies featured on the Academy blog have shown that Thera-Band® elastic resistance exercises can improve quality of life, decrease fatigue, and improve other physical aspects such as strength and range of motion.
While it’s important to show these exercise programs are effective from a quantitative standpoint, it’s also valuable to understand the qualitative aspects of these exercise programs. Clinicians sometimes disregard these qualitative studies since they are not associated with ‘hard’ clinical outcomes. Qualitative studies can provide unique insights into attitudes, perceptions, and feelings about an exercise intervention. This feedback can help researchers and clinicians understand aspects of an exercise program to help improve adherence and compliance.
Canadian researchers wanted to describe the perceptions of 8 women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer who performed a concurrent exercise program. The 24-week home-based program used progressive elastic bands for 8 weeks to strengthen the legs, arms and trunk 3 times per week. Participants used a 6 to 12 repetition maximum (RM) resistance level and advanced to the next color band when they could complete 15 repetitions in one set without tiring. They also More >
Neck pain in office workers relieved with 2 minutes of Thera-Band exercise!
Feb 7th
Neck pain combined with shoulder pain is a common problem among desk workers, particularly those using a desktop computer. One study noted a 50% incidence of neck/shoulder pain over a 1-year period. Lars Andersen PhD and his colleagues in Copenhagen, Denmark, completed a randomized controlled trial of 198 office workers with neck/shoulder pain and tenderness to palpation. The researchers wanted to develop an “exercise program as simple and feasible as possible.”
They chose Thera-Band® elastic tubing with handles for an exercise routine using only 1 exercise for either 2 or 12 minutes. The subjects were randomly assigned to either a non-exercising control group, a 2-minute exercise group, or a 12-minute exercise group. The exercise groups performed a lateral raise exercise in the scapular plane to 90 degrees of abduction with elastic tubing. The exercises were performed 5 days per week (10 minutes and 60 minutes per week in the 2- and 12-minute groups, respectively) for 10 weeks. Female subjects started with Red Thera-Band resistance tubing, while the male subjects started with Green tubing. Both groups gradually increased their repetitions and resistance to Blue Thera-Band resistance tubing. The 2-minute group performed the exercise for one set to failure, while the 12-minute group performed 5 to 6 More >
Thera-Band exercise protocol for chronic neck pain improves quality of life
Dec 15th
Dr. Jari Ylinen of Finland has published several studies using Thera-Band resistance bands for chronic neck pain, including articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Females with chronic neck pain have shown significant decreases in pain and significant increases in neck strength up to 2 years after his program. The exercises include dynamic-isometric cervical flexion, extension, and sidebending against black Thera-Band resistance bands. Patients also perform upper body dumbbell exercises. The program is initially performed for 12 days in a rehabilitation clinic, then at home for one year. Download the Thera-Band Chronic Neck Pain exercise protocol here.
In his most recent publication documenting the outcomes of his program, Dr. Ylinen and his colleagues investigated the effects of high-intensity Thera-Band resistance exercises on health-related quality of life in patients with chronic neck pain after one year of exercise. 180 female office workers with neck pain were randomly assigned to a strengthening exercise group, endurance training group, or control group. The strength training group performed the exercise described above, while the endurance group performed a 20-repetition head-lifting task and dumbbell exercises. Both groups also performed squats, back extension, sit-ups, and stretching.
After one year, both the Thera-Band exercise and endurance exercise groups significantly More >
Evidence-based exercise prescription for Thera-Band® shoulder exercises
Oct 21st
Shoulder rehabilitation exercises are commonly performed with Thera-Band® resistance bands and dumbbells. Electromyography (EMG) is commonly used to quantify the muscle activity of these exercises to help clinicians determine which exercises are most effective at activating muscle. Several studies have been published that evaluate the EMG levels of common shoulder exercises. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to compare the results of these studies since they often 1) assess different muscles; 2) use different intensities and types of resistance; 3) quantify the level of contraction differently; and 4) use different analysis techniques. In addition, these studies are typically performed on healthy individuals without shoulder pathology, limiting our understanding of the effects of these exercises on shoulder patients. These issues all limit our evidence-based clinical decision making.
Dr. Rafael Escamilla of the Andrews Institute for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Florida published an excellent review of shoulder function and muscle activation studies in Sports Medicine. Dr. Escamilla and his colleagues described relevant biomechanics and function of the rotator cuff, deltoid, and scapular muscles. His colleagues then reviewed 8 EMG studies evaluating various shoulder exercises, modes of resistance, and muscles. Exercises with ‘high’ to ‘very high’ activation (> 41% maximum contraction) were identified.
Download the Thera-Band exercises here.
When More >
