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.

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.

Objective. This work is aimed at assessing the effects of inspiratory muscle training on lung functions, inspiratory muscle strength, and aerobic capacity in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods. A randomized control study was performed on 55 patients diagnosed with DPN and OSA. They were assigned to the training group (IMT, n=28) and placebo training group (P-IMT, n=27). Inspiratory muscle strength, lung functions, and aerobic capacity were evaluated before and after 12 weeks postintervention. An electronic inspiratory muscle trainer was conducted, 30 min a session, three times a week for 12 consecutive weeks. Results. From seventy-four patients, 55 have completed the study program. A significant improvement was observed in inspiratory muscle strength (p<0.05) in the IMT group while no changes were observed in the P-IMT group (p>0.05). No changes were observed in the lung function in the two groups (p>0.05). Also, VO2max and VCO2max changed significantly after training in the IMT group (p<0.05) while no changes were observed in the P-IMT group (p>0.05). Other cardiopulmonary exercise tests did not show any significant change in both groups (p>0.05). Conclusions. Based on the outcomes of the study, it was found that inspiratory muscle training improves inspiratory muscle strength and aerobic capacity without a notable effect on lung functions for diabetic patients suffering from DPN and OSA.

Objective. The objective of this study is to find and compare the effects of isokinetic training and virtual reality training on sports performances in university football players with chronic low back pain. Design. This is a randomized, double-blinded controlled study. Methods. The study was conducted on 45LBP participants at university hospital. First group (n = 15) received isokinetic training, second group (n = 15) received virtual reality training, and the control group (n = 15) received conventional training exercises for four weeks. Clinical (pain intensity and player wellness) and sports performance (40 m sprint, 4 × 5 m sprint, submaximal shuttle running, countermovement jump, and squat jump) scores were measured at baseline, after 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 6 months. Results. Four weeks following training VRT group shows more significant changes in pain intensity and player wellness scores than IKT and control groups (p≤0.001). Sports performance variables (such as 40 m sprint, 4 × 5 m sprint, submaximal shuttle running, countermovement jump, and squat jump) scores also show significant improvement in VRT group than the other two groups (p≤0.001). Conclusion. Overall, our study suggests that strength training through virtual reality training protocol improves pain and sports performances than isokinetic training and other conventional trainings in university football players with chronic low back pain.

Background: Isokinetic training (IKT) and core stabilization training (CST) are commonly used for balance training in musculoskeletal conditions. The knowledge about the effective implementation of these training protocols on sports performances in university football players with chronic low back pain (LBP) is lacking. Objective: To find and compare the effects of IKT and CST on sports performances in university football players with chronic LBP. Design: Randomized, double-blinded controlled study. Setting: University hospital. Participants: Sixty LBP participants divided into isokinetic group (IKT; n = 20), core stabilization group (CST; n = 20), and the control group (n = 20) and received respected exercises for 4 weeks. Outcome measures: Clinical (pain intensity and player wellness) and sports performances (40 m sprint, 4 × 5 m sprint, submaximal shuttle running, counter movement jump, and squat jump) scores were measured at baseline, after 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 3 months. Results: Four weeks following training IKT group shows more significant changes in pain intensity and player wellness scores than CST and control groups (P ≤ .001). Sports performance variables (40 m sprint, 4 × 5 m sprint, submaximal shuttle running, counter movement jump and squat jump) scores also show significant improvement in IKT group than the other 2 groups (P ≤ .001). Conclusion: This study suggests that training through IKT improves pain intensity and sports performances than CST in university football players with chronic LBP.