Should you really exercise when you have cancer?

The short answer is yes, you should! Physical activity has a wide range of benefits for many different outcomes in almost all cancer cases. These include, but are not limited to, physiological outcomes like cardiopulmonary fitness, physical function and body composition, and patient-reported outcomes including fatigue, sleep, and sense of empowerment (Hojman, Gehl, Christensen, & […]

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How does isometric training compare to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in the management of resting blood pressure

Part of the BJSM #KnowledgeTranslation blog series Original paper: Isometric exercise versus high-intensity interval training for the management of blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/12/14/bjsports-2021-104642  Why is this study important? As a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, hypertension (high blood pressure) remains a global health problem at an estimated prevalence of over […]

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DNA damage and repair capacity related to diet and exercise: a new dimension in cancer treatment?

DNA damage is recognised as the first step in the development of cancer, but also many other chronical diseases as well as the aging process. Oxidative stress and inflammation are closely intertwined in disease pathogenesis [1]. Oxidative stress is characterized by an imbalance between formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense mechanisms, induced […]

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Your brain is amazing, let’s keep it that way, Brain Health Scotland

What is “brain health”? Good brain health is essential to help individuals thrive and perform in all aspects of life. “Brain health” can be referred to as the “preservation of optimal brain integrity and mental and cognitive function” in combination with the absence of neurological disease (1) It is affected by almost all events from […]

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Don’t judge an App by its cover!

An overview of the quality and potential to promote behaviour change of the most downloaded Apps for people with one or more chronic conditions We have a problem… Osteoarthritis, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, depression, heart conditions, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affect millions of people around the world, often co-occur (i.e., multimorbidity) and cause physical […]

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Bone health in the young athlete – part of the new UK SEM Trainee Blog Series

How should we be investigating and monitoring bone health in the young athlete? Bone health is a key area of development in the wellbeing of young athletes and is crucial for their safe training and successful career progression. Bone mineral density (BMD) is often used as the main (surrogate) marker for bone health, and usually […]

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How the culture war over knee osteoarthritis treatments hurts patients

In my previous blog I reviewed the excellent RESTORE study1, which concluded no benefit for platelet-rich plasma (PRP) over saline injection for knee osteoarthritis (OA) (according to the authors) and which no doubt will be used to justify exclusion of funding for PRP injections, despite previous reviews showing likely benefit2-6. Even though knee OA has […]

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The RESTORE trial for PRP injections in knee osteoarthritis – what does it show?

The excellent RESTORE trial has just been published in JAMA1 – it was my most eagerly awaited publication of 2021. This was a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections vs placebo saline for mild-moderate knee osteoarthritis (OA) with a protocol pre-published, high enrolment, good blinding and MRI pre- and post- assessment. […]

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The #8Investments That Work for Physical Activity – now in 13 languages!

How can you help advocate for ISPAH’s Eight Investments That Work for Physical Activity? On December 8th, 2021, ISPAH launched 8 translations of the #8Investments Infographic and Postcard, meaning these resources are now available in 9 languages. The full document is already available in 12 languages! The #8Investments is a global call to action, for […]

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Will you make a New Year’s resolution to help supercharge the impact, use and uptake of your research?

Mind the ‘knowledge translation’ gap It’s no secret that despite the blood, sweat and tears of researchers, it still takes a long time for the research itself to filter down into the contexts and settings that it is intended for. As has been referenced in BJSM before, it takes 17 years for just 14% of […]

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