Breast cancer is the most common caner in women, with more than 13,500 cases diagnosed in Australia each year. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85.

Exercise and breast cancer

Most of the studies on exercise and cancer to date have focused on women with breast cancer, with the evidence supporting the following exercise recommendations.

Moderate intensity exercise is recommended.

Accumulating at least 30 minutes on at least three days each week can lead to benefits.

Aerobic and supervised resistance (weights training) are safe and beneficial. 

Depending on your fitness level, many short sessions may be needed to accumulate at least 30 minutes of daily exercise. It is important to  build up gradually, and then aim to maintain at least 30 minutes of exercise on five days each week.

Survivors of breast cancer still need to overcome all the usual exercise barriers experienced by women with breast cancer (e.g. affordability, time constraints, lack of interest or motivation), but there are some common concerns related to the breast cancer experience. This can include fatigue, lymphoedema, and discomfort.

It is important to speak with appropriate health professionals regarding your individual needs, including accredited exercise physiologists who can design a suitable exercise program. Your GP or treating specialist can assist you to make a start.  

For further information and a list of recommended activities download the EIM Breast cancer and exercise Fact Sheet can be found at this website. http://exerciseismedicine.org.au/health-care-providers/factsheets-2

A University of Michigan study looked at the impact of exercise on 4,345 employees in a financial services company that had just started a workplace wellness program. Roughly 30 percent of employees were high risk and suffering from metabolic syndrome, a dangerous cluster of risk factors associated with diabetes and heart disease. Overall, about 34 percent of U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome.

The study found that when the high-risk employees accumulated the government-recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week, their health care costs and productivity equaled that of healthy employees who didn’t exercise enough, said Alyssa Schultz, a researcher at the Health Management Research Center in the U-M School of Kinesiology.

“It was a real surprise, the level of protection physical activity gave to people with metabolic syndrome,” Schultz said. “We can’t control our family history and some health indicators such as cholesterol can be difficult to manage, but if individuals get enough exercise, the negative impacts of metabolic syndrome could be mitigated.”

This is also good news for companies trying to cut health care costs, Schultz said. Employees with metabolic syndrome who exercised enough cost $2,770 in total health care annually, compared to $3,855 for workers with metabolic syndrome who didn’t exercise enough. Pharmacy costs alone were twice as much.

With a bit of imagination, employers can develop and implement low cost interventions and programs that make it easy for workers to exercise on the job, Schultz said.

Some examples include walking groups, signs reminding employees to take the stairs rather than the elevator, or developing and distributing maps of walking routes that fit into a lunch hour, she said.

“These can give a huge return for all employees and for employers,” Schultz said.

If you can only do 10 minutes a day, instead of the government-recommended 20, that’s fine too, Schultz said. Any amount of exercise is better than none. As long as a person does something for “more than zero minutes” there are benefits in terms of health and economic outcomes in the workplace.

More information: “The association of self-reported employee physical activity with metabolic syndrome, health care costs, absenteeism, and presenteeism.” J Occup Environ Med. 2014 Sep;56(9):919-26. DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000257.

Source: https://www.essa.org.au/media_release/essa-blog-20-minutes-of-exercise-a-day-dramatically-lowers-the-risk-of-diabetes-and-heart-disease-even-for-employees-with-a-high-risk-of-developing-those-conditions/

In 2011-12, 3.3% of Australians (726,000) people reported having osteoporosis.

Fortunately, one of the ways to slow down the rate of osteoporosis is physical therapy/exercise.

Click here to see our latest newsletter about it.

It is never too late to rebuild your gluteal muscles, according to Stuart Baptist, director of Sydney Men’s Health Physiotherapy.
He says there is no muscle in the body that can’t be developed ‘because the beautiful thing about us humans is that we are plastic objects and if you apply enough stress, accurately enough, for a long enough period, the body’s natural process is to adapt and change.’
With targeted exercises, the potential to recover and optimise strength in the gluteals is always there.
He explains the gluteals are used in weight bearing and when you stand on one leg, the gluteal on that side works to stabilise your pelvis.
If you stand on your right leg and your left hip drops, it means you have a weak right gluteal. If you walk and your pelvis stays relatively level, your gluteals are functioning well as stabilisers.
When you walk behind someone who has a shimmy in their step, observe closely and you’ll see their bottom keeps dropping on the non weight-bearing side. This is often a sign that their gluteals are weak.
Baptist says it is best to test for gluteal weakness in a dynamic environment. He usually puts patients on a treadmill and videos them as they run.
“We often test people when they are static and wonder why they break down when they are moving – it’s because we have not assessed them effectively.”
While the gluteals have two functions, as stabilisers and prime movers, he says looks can be deceiving.
The deep layers of the buttock muscles, the gluteus minimus and gluteus medius – provide stability and it is quite possible for these to be weak while the proud prime mover that drives forward motion, the gluteus maximum, appears rounded and strong.
“Just as some people have big bums and are not stable, so some can have tiny bums that are stable but they don’t look good because they are generally flat. They are generally flat because they are deconditioned from being sat on all day.”
After a long day at their desk, many executives go for a run and while they derive overall value from this, their gluteals are often not conditioned enough to benefit specifically.
In those who choose to cycle, the gluteal benefit is even smaller
“With cycling, the glutes tend to get weaker than they would with running because the hip is in a much more flexed position. Running has more hip extension and so engages the gluteals more.”

A traumatic brain injury (also known as TBI) occurs as a result of trauma to the head, leading to damage to the brain itself. Traumatic brain injuries can result from numerous types of injuries including automobile accidents, contact sports, or falls. Symptoms can vary from mild to severe; ranging from headaches and general confusion to partial paralysis and loss of sensation. In fact, any injury to the brain is a serious condition that requires hospitalization and immediate medical attention.

A mild TBI may be associated with a change in the mental state of the individual or a short-term loss of consciousness. A severe TBI may result in a coma, memory loss and loss of muscle control. Over a period of time, this can cause loss of muscle strength and a deterioration of balance, which can lead to falls.

Although the severity of a brain injury can vary immensely, the importance of physical therapy cannot be overstated. Some brain injuries may require a few weeks of rehabilitation; while severe injuries can require several months of neurological re-education under the supervision of an experienced physical therapist.

Five Benefits of Physical Therapy in Traumatic Brain Injury

Every instance of TBI is unique and different and a physical therapist can conduct a detailed evaluation to determine the extent of impairment. This initial evaluation will help determine extent of sensation, consciousness, body awareness, memory, muscle tone, movement, balance and gait.

Based on the evaluation, the physical therapist may design a program consisting of neuro-developmental training, joint mobilization, functional training and self-stretching exercises. The five most common benefits of physical therapy include:

1. Memory assessment and improvement.
2. Motor function and muscle strength increase.
3. Improved responsiveness to sensation and awareness of the surrounding.
4. Lifestyle counseling to enhance independence with daily activities
5. Improved balance to facilitate standing and walking.

With brain injury, time is of the essence. Don’t delay – seek medical attention and start working with a physical therapist as soon as possible.

The goal is to help the individual resume full function in a gradual, controlled manner under the supervision of the physical therapist. Your therapist can recondition your brain and nervous system, bridging the gap between medical intervention and full recovery.

The bottom line – physical therapy treatment will help regain function and improve quality of life.

Information obtained from the newsletter that we send out on a fortnightly basis.

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The MediGYM Team