Research and News
Thera-Band Elastic Resistance
Researchers in Spain investigate Thera-Band training programs
Jun 10th
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Part 3 of “Thera-Band Academy well-represented at ACSM annual meeting”
Researchers in Spain have shown that Thera-Band® elastic resistance is as effective as weight machines in improving strength in middle-aged women. They wanted to compare the effectiveness of elastic resistance training to weight machines and aquatic resistance exercises. 72 postmenopausal women were assigned to one of those 3 groups or a control group for 10 weeks, twice a week. They were tested for upper body, lower body and abdominal strength before and after the program. All 3 training groups significantly improved in their strength, supporting the use of different devices for short-term strength gains in postmenopausal women.
- Garcia-Masso et al. 2011. Use of different resistance training devices and its effects in the fitness of postmenopausal women. (Abstract). Med Sci Sports Exerc. 43(5):S579.
The Spanish researchers noted that one of the difficulties in using elastic resistance in training studies is the ability to quantify intensity of training, which also leads to difficulties in quantifying intensity of progression. Researchers have shown that using perceived exertion ratings such as the Borg RPE or OMNI-RES Scales can be effective More >
Danish researchers feature Thera-Band tubing at ACSM
Jun 8th
Part 2 of “Thera-Band Academy well-represented at ACSM annual meeting”
Dr. Lars Andersen presents his poster at ACSM 2011
Researchers in Denmark led by Dr. Lars Andersen have shown that Thera-Band® elastic tubing exercises can significantly reduce shoulder-neck pain. 198 individuals with shoulder-neck pain were randomly assigned to a 2-minute or 12-minute per-day exercise group with Thera-Band exercise tubing with handles. They performed the exercises during their working hours, 5 days a week for 10 weeks. Both groups significantly improved their pain, tenderness and strength. The authors concluded that as little as 2 minute sessions of progressive resistance training per day with Thera-Band tubing results in clinically-relevant reductions in shoulder-neck pain and tenderness. The ACSM issued a press release about this study when it was presented at the meeting. Visit the Neck Pain Exercise page at Thera-BandAcademy.com that describes their study.
Dr. Andersen’s colleagues wanted to determine the physiological effects of different types of elastic resistance training by comparing a high intensity (3RM) exercise with a set of repetitions to failure using a lower resistance level. 15 healthy females performed a lateral raise with Thera-Band Tubing while the EMG level of their neck and shoulder muscles were measured. They found that high levels of muscle activation More >
Thera-Band Academy well-represented at ACSM annual meeting
Jun 6th
I attended the American College of Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting in Denver last week. As always, there were lots of excellent scientific presentations, including several by Thera-Band Research Advisory Committee (TRAC) members from around the world. TRAC members presenting their research had their abstracts published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise supplemental issue. The topics included older adult exercise programs including the Thera-Band Exercise Station, validating exercise intensity of Thera-Band elastic resistance, and its use in patients with neck-shoulder pain. I’ve summarized their research abstracts for the blog and will be posting them over this week. Today: Japanese-American Studies; Wednesday: Danish Studies; Friday: Spanish Studies
Researchers wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Thera-Band® Exercise Station as part of an aerobic and resistance exercise circuit training program in Japanese older adults. They first determined that the program provided an adequate stimulus for aerobic training as participants exercised at 60% of their heart rate; they also achieved low to moderate intensity resistance training based on RPE levels (Imai et al. 2011). The researchers then randomly assigned 39 older adults to either a Thera-Band Exercise Station circuit or a non-exercising control group. They exercised for 12 weeks, 3 times per week 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 >
Improving Function after Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) with Balance Training
May 31st
Exercises with Thera-Band elastic bands have been shown effective at improving strength and function in knee osteoarthritis patients before total knee replacement (TKR) surgery. Dr. Robert Topp and his colleagues have published several research papers on their “prehabilitation” pre-operative exercise program using Thera-Band that benefits total knee replacement patients before and after surgery.
Knee osteoarthritis patients are expected to receive 3 million total knee replacements per year by 2020 in the United States. Unfortunately, over one third of total knee patients experience deficits in function one year after surgery (Franklin et al 2008). Few exercise intervention studies have evaluated the effectiveness of balance training in combination with traditional rehabilitation exercises after early post-operative rehabilitation. Most total knee replacement patients receive in-patient exercises and some outpatient rehabilitation for a few months after surgery. Previous research has suggested that total knee rehabilitation patients plateau at 3 months after surgery (Mizner et al. 2005).
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh wanted to determine the feasibility of a balance exercise program in total knee replacement patients 2 to 6 months post-surgery. They randomly assigned 43 patients to either a ‘functional’ training group or a functional training group with additional balance exercises. Each group completed 6 weeks of supervised exercise over More >
