Research and News
Research Updates
Elastic resistance exercise safe and effective for kidney failure patients on dialysis
Feb 11th
The kidneys serve an important function in filtering the blood. Patients with severe kidney disease or kidney failure don’t have the ability to clean their blood. This condition is known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and often requires hemodialysis that cleans the blood with a machine. In 2006, over 500,000 Americans had ESRD, with over 350,000 requiring dialysis.
Dialysis patients often have reduced physical function and quality of life because of their disease complications and lack of physical activity. Unfortunately, there is little research on exercise in dialysis patients. Researchers performed a multi-center randomized controlled trial in Spain to determine the effects of a resistance training program with ankle weights and elastic bands.
27 hemodialysis patients were randomly assigned to a resistive-exercise group or a low-level aerobic exercise group. Both groups, supervised by physiotherapists, exercised 3 times a week for 6 months. Each session included 5 minutes of stretching as part of warm-up and cool down, and 25 minutes of either resistance training or stationary bike riding. The resistance training group performed training at an RPE of 12-14, and emphasized lower extremity exercise.
At the end of the study, the resistance training group significantly increased in physical function compared to the control group. The More >
Both Thera-Band and Aquafins resistance improve strength and overall health
Feb 8th
It has been well-established that resistance training improves muscular strength and physical capacity. Other health-related benefits include reduction of body fat and improvement in blood lipids. In addition to traditional isotonic resistance training (free weights, machines), elastic bands and aquatic resistance can be used for strengthening exercises. Research shows that elastic resistance produces the same gains in strength as more expensive weight machines; however, elastic resistance has never been directly compared to aquatic resistance in terms of effectiveness.
Researchers in Spain compared Thera-Band® elastic band strengthening to aquatic strengthening including Aquafins® aquatic training in a group of post-menopausal women. The subjects were randomly assigned to the elastic, aquatic, or non-exercising control group. The 24 week periodized program used the OMNI scale for perceived exertion to ensure both groups trained at the same intensity. Each group performed the same exercises with different types of resistance. After the training program, both the elastic and aquatic groups equally improved their body composition (12-15% reduction in body fat), blood pressure (6-8% reduction), physical capacity (13-52% improvement) and blood chemistry (11% increase in HDL) compared to the control group.
These results confirm that both dry land and aquatic training are effective and beneficial in middle-aged women. This information is particularly useful More >
Thera-Band® resistance or dumbbells? New research supports both in the clinic
Feb 7th
The debate of elastic resistance versus isotonic resistance
Elastic resistance is commonly used in rehabilitation exercises, and has been shown to increase strength and function in over 100 randomized controlled trials (www.thera-bandacademy.com). Even with this amount of clinical evidence, elastic resistance is sometimes criticized because of the difficulty in quantifying intensity. Despite the fact that force elongation charts are available to quantify elastic resistance intensity, it is sometimes difficult to use these clinically. Because of this limitation, few studies have compared elastic and isotonic resistance directly because of the intensity-dosing issue.
Quantifying EMG and RPE of elastic and isotonic resistance
Researchers in Denmark compared elastic and isotonic dumbbell resistances for muscle activation and perceived exertion levels. Healthy females performed 3 different exercises with standard dumbbells ranging from 2 to 7.5 kg, and Thera-Band elastic tubing (red, green, blue, black and silver). The researchers developed a chart comparing isotonic and Thera-Band elastic resistance stretched 125 to 150%.
Thera-Band® elastic color Isotonic Resistance Red 2 kg Green 3 kg Blue 4 kg Black 5 kg Silver 7.5 kgEach subject randomly performed 3 exercises with both types of resistance: standing lateral raise, shoulder external rotation at 0° of abduction, and seated wrist extension. The elastic tubing was stretched More >
Proprioceptive Exercises: Are they effective?
Feb 4th
Neuromuscular and proprioceptive exercises are increasing in popularity during rehabilitation following sports injuries such as ankle sprains and ACL tears. These interventions typically include balance exercises such as Thera-Band® kicks and balance board training. Researchers from Germany completed a systematic review of studies evaluating the effectiveness of proprioceptive and neuromuscular training. 15 clinical trials involving ankle sprains and ACL rehabilitation met the researchers’ inclusion criteria.
The authors concluded that proprioceptive exercise and neuromuscular training are effective at improving function, decreasing symptoms of instability, and preventing re-injury after ankle sprains. Surprisingly, the authors concluded that neuromuscular training was not more effective than strengthening exercise for post-operative ACL reconstruction. In addition, proprioceptive training after injury had no effect on muscle strength, muscle activation or edema, and had more impact on dynamic balance than static balance. There was conflicting evidence on training effects on joint position sense and muscle reaction.
The researchers recommended that training must last 6 to 12 weeks, but the wide variety of exercise and prescription (volume and intensity) made it difficult to recommend specific dosages of exercise. They also commented on the poor methodological quality, lack of applicable studies on shoulder exercises, and need for more research. Based on the evidence, there is moderate evidence that proprioceptive exercises should More >
Early Thera-Band® strengthening for rotator cuff tear repair may speed recovery
Feb 3rd
The rotator cuff is crucial for proper function of the shoulder and activities of daily living (ADL). Full-thickness rotator cuff tears require surgical repair and a lengthy recovery, often lasting 6 months or more. Early physical therapy exercises are very conservative, focusing more on allowing the repair to heal. For fear of re-injury, dynamic resistance exercise is sometimes avoided for the first 4 months post-op. Swedish researchers investigated if accelerated rehabilitation after full-thickness rotator cuff tear surgery was safe and beneficial. In their prospective, randomized and controlled trial, one group of 7 patients underwent traditional physical therapy, while another group of 7 patients performed accelerated physical therapy, utilizing dynamic elastic resistance earlier in the rehabilitation protocol. Patients in the accelerated group removed their slings after 4 weeks to begin gentle motion and early strengthening against aquatic resistance. They also initiated elastic resisted internal rotation and external rotation at 8 weeks. Both groups received clinical and home exercise programs. The researchers concluded that the accelerated group had slightly faster recovery than traditional therapy without any adverse effects. While these results are encouraging, further research with more subjects is obviously needed.
Klintberg IH, et al. Early loading in physiotherapy treatment after full-thickness rotator cuff repair: a prospective randomized More >
