Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 10-week aerobic exercise training on cardiovascular function, atherosclerosis, and vascular endothelial function in elderly women. Methods Twenty impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and normoglycemic elderly women volunteered to participate in the study. The participants in aerobic exercise training group (TR: n=9) completed 20-40 minutes of aerobic exercise program at 30-50% HRR for 3 times per week during 10 weeks. The participants in control group (CON: n=11) were asked to maintain their normal life pattern during the same intervention period. Results Main results of the study were as follows: 1) There were no significant main effect or interaction in body weight, fat-free mass, fat mass, percent body fat, and body mass index. 2) There were no significant main effect or interaction in heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance (TPR), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure, pulse pressure, and rate pressure product. However, interaction between group and test in TPR was close to statistically significant level (P =.054), and it tended to be decreased in TR group. 3) There was a significant main effect of test in high sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP), it tended to be decreased in TR group. There were no significant changes in total cholesterol(TC)/high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio, triglyceride/HDL-C ratio, and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol/HDL-C ratio. 4) There were significant main effect of group, main effect of test, as well as interaction between group and test in % flow mediated dilation(FMD), and it increased significantly (P<.01) in TR group. Nitric oxide tended to be increased in TR group, even though it did not change significantly in both groups. Conclusions It was concluded that the 10-week aerobic exercise training would be beneficial for improvement of vascular endothelial function, resulting from the decrement of total peripheral resistance.
PURPOSE This study aims to investigate the effects of a 12-week equipment-based Pilates training on physical fitness, cardiovascular function, and vascular endothelial function in obese middle-aged women. METHODS Twenty-four women, aged 30-40 years with a body mass index ≥ 25 and percent body fat ≥ 30% were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the Pilates training group (TR; n=12); and control group (CON; n=12). The TR participants underwent three 50-minute equipmentbased Pilates training sessions per week for 12 weeks. Participants in the CON maintained their normal life patterns for the same intervention period. Variables regarding physical fitness, cardiovascular function, and vascular endothelial function were measured and compared pre-test and post-test u a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. RESULTS The main results of the study were as follows: 1) Regarding physique and body composition, participants’ body weight, body mass index, fat mass, percent body fat, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio decreased significantly in the TR. 2) Regarding physical fitness, muscle strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory endurance increased significantly in the TR. 3) Regarding cardiovascular response, SV increased significantly in the TR. 4) Regarding vascular endothelial function, blood vessel diameter at rest and during vasodilation as well as blood flow volume during vasodilation decreased significantly in the CON, resulting in a significant interaction between group and test in FMD percentage. CONCLUSIONS It was concluded that the 12-week equipment-based Pilates program improved the physical fitness and vascular endothelial function in obese middle-aged women.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the functional movement improvement training program on the score of high-school baseball players’ functional movement screen (FMSTM) test. After 16-weeks treatment period, a significant increase of Deep Squat, Hurdle Step, In-Line Lunge, Shoulder Mobility, Active Straight Leg Raise, Rotary Stability, and total score was found only in treatment group. There was decrease on the number of players in treatment group whose total score is less than 14; the criteria vulnerable being injured. The results of this study suggested that applying functional movement improvement training program on high-school baseball players can be effective to prevent injuries.
Purpose Sperm quality and function are reduced by environmental factors (e.g., obesity), leading to increased infertility worldwide. Therefore, the purpose of this review paper was to investigate the effects of obesity and exercise training on sperm quality and function in animal and human models. Methods In order to determine the effects of obesity and exercise on sperm quality, motility, morphology, testosterone, oxidative stress, inflammation, we reviewed previous literatures with MEDLINE, PubMed, and Scopus databases. Results The most important factor to control the sperm motility is calcium ion, which is performed by the protein of CatSper (Cation Channel of Sperm). Obese men showed the decrease of number, concentration, motility, and volume in sperm, resulting in delayed or failed fertility. However, regular exercise training increased sperm-mediated factors including number, motility, and morphology, and festicular function-mediated factors including sperm concentration and serum testosterone. Conclusions While obesity exacerbates sperm quality and function in men, regular exercise training with moderate intensity increases sperm number and motility and reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, leading to the improvement of men’s fertility.
Purpose The present study explored biological autonomy and control of function in circumstances that assessed a presumed relationship to an environmental cycle. An understanding of this behavior appeals to the organism-environment system rather than simply the organism—we seek to expose the laws that underlie end-directed capabilities by measuring biological characteristics (motor synchrony) in an environmental cycle (circadian temperature). Methods Participants (n = 24) at the University of Connecticut (Storrs, USA) and the Seoul National University (Seoul, Korea) served in the study. The production of in-phase bi-manual coordination was examined at different circadian points (allowing comparison of day-night temperature effects) in two experimental designs; (1) normal temperature embedded in a 24 hour cycle (5:00, 12:00, 17:00, and 24:00), and (2) normal versus abnormal temperature [artificially decreasing or increasing] while embedded at two points (5:00 am, 5:00 pm) during the circadian process. A typical bi-manual stability measure varied significantly as a function of the day-night temperature cycle. Results While (i) circadian effects under the artificially perturbed temperature manipulation were not straightforward along the day-night temperature cycle, (ii) the circadian effect divided by the ordinary circadian seems to be constant along the day-night temperature cycle. Conclusions The discovery of direct and robust relation between biological aspects (body temperature and motor synchrony) an environmental process (circadian temperature cycle) may echo adaptation of our biological system to the environment. This relation supports the claim that the organism and the environment should be considered as integrated system in which biological (or physical) dynamics takes place as a mutual factor.
The purpose of this study was a investigate the endothelial function of prehypertensive during dynamic exercise. Hypothesis of this study was to impair the endothelial function in prehypertensive compared to normtensive during dynamic handgrip exercise. Eleven healthy prehypertension (24±2 yrs) and ten healthy normotensive (25 ± 2 yrs) were recruited in this study. Participants were performed dynamic handgrip exercise in one contraction per second at 30% of maximum voluntary contraction for three minutes. Vascular (blood vessel diameter, blood flow) and cardiar response (stroke volume, heart rate and cardiac output) were measured at rest and during exercise. Flow mediated dilation (FMD) was decrease significantly in prehypertensive less than normotensive (p<0.05) at rest, and vasodilation of prehypertensive was reduced significantly less than normitensive during exercise (p<0.05). All the cardiovascular responses were aot significantly different at rest and during exercise between prehypertensive and normotensive. These results suggest that endothelial function is impaired in prehypertensive compared to in normotensive
PURPOSE Increased body mass index (BMI) increases ankle instability and adversely affects human movement. This study aims to compare and analyze the muscle function and proprioception of the ankle joint based on Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine potential differences. METHODS Twenty-eight healthy male and female college students were categorized into overweight (≥ BMI 23) and normal (< BMI 23) groups. Measurements included BMI, isokinetic strength of dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, eversion, inversion, ankle joint range of motion, and ankle joint proprioception. RESULTS In dorsiflexion, right 30°/sec (p=.035), left 30°/sec (p=.009) and right 120°/sec (p=.011); in plantarflexion, left 30°/sec (p<.001), right 120°/sec (p=.007) and left 120°/sec (p=.006) in ankle inversion, left 30°/sec (p=.001), right 120°/sec (p=.021) and left 120°/sec (p=.007), left 30°/sec (p=.014), 120°/sec (p=.001) in ankle inversion-eversion ratio, right (p=.003) and left (p=.003) in ankle joint range of motion, right (p<.001) and left (p=.022) in total proprioception, and left (p<.001) in left-right proprioception were significantly different between the normal and overweight groups. CONCLUSIONS It was found that the overweight group had lower muscle strength, joint range of motion, and proprioceptive control function of the ankle joint than the normal group according to BMI. Therefore, exercise programs should be provided to strengthen the periarticular muscles involved in ankle movement, such as the tibialis anterior, soleus, and peroneus longus, and to control dynamic proprioception to prevent ankle injuries and function of the ankle joint according to BMI.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of treadmill exercise and MitoQ treatment on NADPH oxidase, antioxidation and vascular function-related factors in aortic of D-galactose-induced aging rats. Methods To induce the animal model of aging, D-galactose was diluted in saline, and a dose of 100mg /kg was intraperitoneally injected into Sprague-Dawley rats once a day for a total of 10 weeks. Rats were divided into five groups: Control group (CON, n=9), D-galactose control group (DC, n=9), D-galactose+MitoQ group (DM, n=9), D-galactose+Exercise group (DE, n=9), D-galactose+MitoQ + Exercise group(DME, n=9), and treadmill exercise was conducted for 5 days/week during 8 weeks with gradual increase of intensity. MitoQ treatment was intraperitoneally injected at a concentration of 100μM/kg twice a week for 8 weeks during the research period. Results The result showed that treadmill exercise and MitoQ treatment decreased the expression of NADPH oxidase level and increased antioxidant enzyme such as SOD-2, catalase. It lead to positive effects such as increasing the level of eNOS, a protein involved in vascular function while decreasing the level of VCAM-1. In addition, as a result, it showed the structurally reduced intima-media thickness. Conclusions It can be concluded that treadmill exercise and MitoQ treatment are effective in ameliorating and treating vascular dysfunction resulting from aging.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a functional fatigue protocol on lower extremity dynamic and static postural control. Methods A total of 20 physically active collegiate students participated in this study (ten males, ten females; age 22.5±2.7 years; mass 67.0±13.0 kg; height 168.0±8.9 cm). A unilateral stance with eyes closed for 10 seconds was performed to test static postural control using a balance force plate and single-leg drop landing on 30cm box was performed as a dynamic postural control test and captured using VICON motion analysis system. Results The results of this study showed an average heart rate of 176.3 beats/minute, an 18 rating on the perceived exertion scale, significant differences in blood lactate, and a static postural control deficit after fatigue as compared with before fatigue(p<.05). Dynamic postural control after fatigue changed landing strategy in the form of stiff landing. Knee flexion was decreased at initial contact and at peak vertical ground reaction force, also, both decreased valgus and internal rotation of knee joint. Conclusions This protocol may use for enhancing fatigue-endurance training as well as for inducing fatigue. Further, to ascertain a landing strategy, it is recommended to increase landing height to clearly observe changes in landing strategy.
The frailty, characterized by reduced physiological function is closely related to a fall, disability, institutionalization, hospitalization, and mortality in the elderly. A reduced physical fitness is a major phenotype of the frailty. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among pre-frailty, physical activity (PA) and functional fitness in the community dwelling elderly women. The study participants were elderly women (n=338, 70.6±4.2years) aged over 65 who took part in the Korean Healthy Fitness Criteria study for the National Fitness Award Project in 2015. The pre-frailty was defined using the Cardiovascular Health Study frailty criteria. PA was assessed using the International PA Questionnaire (IPAQ). The participants were classified as regular PA participants if they meet the World Health Organization (WHO) PA recommendation for the elderly. Functional fitness was assessed using the composite of the National Fitness Award fitness testing for the elderly. Quality of life was evaluated using EuroQoL visual analogue scale and WHO quality of life assessment. As the results, the pre-frail elderly women were significantly older and obese (body mass index, percent body fat, waist circumference) than the healthy elderly. The pre-frail elderly presented significant decreases in walking, moderate intensity, and total PA compared to the healthy elderly even after adjusted for age and percent body fat. However, no significant difference was found in vigorous-intensity activity between the pre-frail and healthy elderly. Also, the pre-frail elderly women showed the decrease in functional fitness and quality of life compared to the healthy elderly. Regular PA was associated with high levels of muscular endurance and coordination in healthy and pre-frail elderly. In pre-frail elderly, high levels of cardiorespiratory endurance was associated with PA. In conclusion, regular PA is inversely associated with fitness decline in healthy and pre-frail community-dwelling elderly women. Regular PA might attenuate fitness decline in pre-frail elderly women.
