Sunday, May 22, 2016

Evidence link habitual physical exercise to proven health benefits in postmenopausal women.

Habitual physical exercise incorporated into daily life have proven benefits in improving many health parameters and quality of life in post-menopausal women. Multiple studies have beneficial impact on many organs and systems.

Members of the Spanish Menopause Society, Spanish Cardiology Society and Spanish Federation of Sports Medicine convened to formulate the recommendations on physical activity for older women and they also reviewed the quality of evidence for the various possible health benefits of exercise.

The new position statement was published in the forthcoming issue of Maturitas.

The panel concluded that resistance and weight training improves the bone health and also improves osteoporosis, benefits not seen by walking alone. But, walking is preferred by many postmenopausal women. In addition, it helps maintain the muscle mass, improves movements and flexibility.

Specific form of exercises like Pilates improves balance and thereby reduces the risk of fall and fractures, a major cause of morbidities in elderly.

Regular and intense exercise has been said to improve sleep quality, reduces anxiety and depression and decrease pain due to fibromyalgia and other chronic conditions. But it needs to be performed regularly and over extended period of time.

Dr. Wolfgang Kemmler of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany told Reuters health via email “A plethora of randomized controlled studies determined the positive effect of 'exercise' on risk factors, diseases or complaints related to menopause or increased age. "However, 'exercise' is a rather comprehensive term: there are numerous variations of exercise regimen that may emphasize speed, strength, power, endurance, or coordination."

A British study found that women who are active 3-6 times a week, reaped cardiovascular and cerebrovascular benefits, including protection against blood clots.  Menopause is a good time of life to introduce exercise as a part of daily routine.  

He also opined that most postmenopausal women and elderly people in Germany and US do not do the recommended amount of exercise.

"Thus, the critical issue is much more, whether a single multi-purpose (weekly) exercise program conducted with reasonable exercise frequency (2-3 sessions) and duration (45-60 min) is effective in reducing the most important postmenopausal risk factors and complaints," he said.

The study author  Antonio Cano Sánchez quoted that "Thus, the critical issue is much more, whether a single multi-purpose (weekly) exercise program conducted with reasonable exercise frequency (2-3 sessions) and duration (45-60 min) is effective in reducing the most important postmenopausal risk factors and complaints." 

He also said that to guard against osteoporotic bone loss, a lot of muscle training and high endurance exercise needs to be put in, but some light physical exercise may protect against risk of falling which is as good as good bone density in the event of fragility fracture.

A group exercise class is very good for boosting mood, socializing and motivation to come to the gym daily.

So, mixing endurance, general coordination and resistance exercise is the best choice for postmenopausal women including a balancing aspect for older or less functional women.

 The study highlights by de Guevara, Nicolás Mendoza Ladrón et al are:
  1. Physical exercise is a principal strategy for preventing and treating sarcopenia and its effects by increasing muscle mass and function.
  2. Physical exercise improves flexibility, balance, and physical function, and corrects disability.
  3. Physical exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.
  4. Both aerobic exercise and strength exercises can partially or totally counteract the changes associated with metabolic syndrome in sedentary postmenopausal women.
  5. Physical exercise is inversely related to the risk of dementia and improves the cognitive function of middle-aged women.
  6. Physical exercise improves osteoarticular pain in postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia or breast cancer

References:





No comments:

Post a Comment