Objective: To find and compare the clinical and psychological effects of low and high-intensity aerobic training combined with resistance training in community-dwelling older men with post-COVID-19 sarcopenia symptoms. Design: Randomized control trial. Setting: University physiotherapy clinic. Participants: Men in the age range of 60–80 years with post-COVID-19 Sarcopenia. Intervention: All participants received resistance training for whatever time of the day that they received it, and that in addition they were randomized into two groups like low-intensity aerobic training group ( n = 38) and high-intensity aerobic training group ( n = 38) for 30 minutes/session, 1 session/day, 4 days/week for 8 weeks. Outcomes: Clinical (muscle strength and muscle mass) and psychological (kinesiophobia and quality of life scales) measures were measured at the baseline, fourth week, the eighth week, and at six months follow-up. Results: The 2 × 4 group by time repeated measures MANOVA with corrected post-hoc tests for six dependent variables shows a significant difference between the groups ( P < 0.001). At the end of six months follow up, the handgrip strength, −3.9 (95% CI −4.26 to −3.53), kinesiophobia level 4.7 (95% CI 4.24 to 5.15), and quality of life −10.4 (95% CI −10.81 to −9.9) shows more improvement ( P < 0.001) in low-intensity aerobic training group than high-intensity aerobic training group, but in muscle mass both groups did not show any significant difference ( P > 0.05). Conclusion: Low-intensity aerobic training exercises are more effective in improving the clinical (muscle strength) and psychological (kinesiophobia and quality of life) measures than high-intensity aerobic training in post-COVID 19 Sarcopenia.

Objectives. Chronic nonspecific low back pain (chronic nsLBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders leading to disabilities and physical inactivity. Laser therapy was used in chronic nsLBP treatment; however, no previous studies have assessed the impacts of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) versus low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on chronic nsLBP. This study compared the effects of HILT versus LLLT on individuals suffering from chronic nsLBP. Methods. The study was a randomized control trial. Sixty individuals with chronic nsLBP were enrolled in this study between May and November 2019. All participants were clinically diagnosed with chronic nsLBP. They were assigned randomly into three groups, 20 in each group. The first group received a program of LLLT, the second group received a program of HILT, and the third did not receive laser therapy (control group). Pain severity, disability, lumbar mobility, and quality of life were assessed before and after 12-week intervention. Results. Both LLLT and HILT groups showed a significant improvement of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), visual analogue scale (VAS), lumbar range of motion (ROM), and European Quality of Life (EuroQol) scores ( p > 0.05 ), while the control group did not show significant changes ( p > 0.05 ). Comparison among the three study groups postintervention showed significant differences in the outcome measures ( p > 0.05 ), while comparison between the LLLT and HILT groups showed nonsignificant differences ( p > 0.05 ). Conclusion. There are no different influences of LLLT versus HILT on chronic nsLBP patients. Both LLLT and HILT reduce pain and disability and improve lumbar mobility and quality of life in chronic nsLBP patients.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the latest technologies in rehabilitation for reducing pain and altering serum stress hormones in low back pain (LBP) was lacking. OBJECTIVE: To find the clinical and hormonal effects of virtual reality training (VRT) and isokinetic training (IKT) in chronic LBP patients. METHODS: Through the simple random sampling method, 60 university football players with chronic LBP were allocated into three groups: NVRT= 20, NIKT= 20 and NCONTROL= 20. The three groups underwent different exercises for 4 weeks. Clinical (pain intensity and kinesiophobia) and hormonal (glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, growth hormone, prolactin, ACTH and cortisol) values were measured at baseline, after 4 weeks and 6 months. RESULTS: Four weeks following training, the VRT and IKT groups showed significant changes in pain intensity and kinesiophobia in comparison to the control group (p< 0.05). Hormonal measures also showed significant improvement in the VRT group in comparison to the other two groups (p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: Training through virtual reality and isokinetic exercise is an effective approach in terms of pain and kinesiophobia. In terms of hormonal analysis, virtual reality shows slightly more improvements than isokinetic training in subjects with chronic LBP.