Core muscle functional strength training for reducing the risk of low back pain in military recruits: An open-label randomized controlled trial / 中西医结合学报

BACKGROUND@#Core muscle functional strength training (CMFST) has been reported to reduce injuries to the lower extremity. However, no study has confirmed whether CMFST can reduce the risk of low back pain (LBP).@*OBJECTIVE@#This study identified the effects of CMFST on the incidence of LBP in military recruits.@*DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION@#We performed a prospective, open-label, randomized, controlled study in a population of young healthy male naval recruits from a Chinese basic combat training program. Participants were randomly assigned to either the core group or the control group. In additional to normal basic combat training, recruits in the core group underwent a CMFST program for 12 weeks, while recruits in the control group received no extra training.@*MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES@#At the beginning of the study and at the 12th week, the number of participants with LBP was counted, and lumbar muscle endurance was measured. In addition, when participants complained of LBP, they were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) and Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ).@*RESULTS@#A total of 588 participants were included in the final analysis (295 in the core group and 293 in the control group). The incidence of LBP in the control group was about twice that of the core group over the 12-week study (20.8% vs 10.8%, odds ratio: 2.161-2.159, P < 0.001). The core group had better lumbar muscle endurance at 12 weeks than the control group ([200.80 ± 92.98] s vs [147.00 ± 84.51] s, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in VAS score between groups, but the core group had a significantly lower RMDQ score at week 12 than the control group (3.33 ± 0.58 vs 5.47 ± 4.41, P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#This study demonstrated that the CMFST effectively reduced the incidence of LBP, improved lumbar muscle endurance, and relieved the dysfunction of LBP during basic military training.

Aerobic exercise suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma by downregulating dynamin-related protein 1 through PI3K/AKT pathway / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#Exercise, as a common non-drug intervention, is one of several lifestyle choices known to reduce the risk of cancer. Mitochondrial division has been reported to play a key role in the occurrence and transformation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study investigated whether exercise could regulate the occurrence and development of HCC through mitosis.@*METHODS@#Bioinformatics technology was used to analyze the expression level of dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1), a key protein of mitochondrial division. The effects of DRP1 and DRP1 inhibitor (mdivi-1) on the proliferation and migration of liver cancer cells BEL-7402 were observed using cell counting kit-8, plate colony formation, transwell cell migration, and scratch experiments. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to detect the expression of DRP1 and its downstream phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway. A treadmill exercise intervention was tested in a nude mouse human liver cancer subcutaneous tumor model expressing different levels of DRP1. The size and weight of subcutaneous tumors in mice were detected before and after exercise.@*RESULTS@#The expression of DRP1 in liver cancer tissues was significantly upregulated compared with normal liver tissues (P < 0.001). The proliferation rate and the migration of BEL-7402 cells in the DRP1 over-expression group were higher than that in the control group. The mdivi-1 group showed an inhibitory effect on the proliferation and migration of BEL-7402 cells at 50 μmol/L. Aerobic exercise was able to inhibit the expression of DRP1 and decrease the size and weight of subcutaneous tumors. Moreover, the expression of phosphorylated PI3K (p-PI3K) and phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) decreased in the exercise group. However, exercise could not change p-PI3K and p-AKT levels after knocking down DRP1 or using mdivi-1 on subcutaneous tumor.@*CONCLUSION@#Aerobic exercise can suppress the development of tumors partially by regulating DRP1 through PI3K/AKT pathway.

Advance in Assessment and Treatment for Postoperative Lymphedema Related Tissue Fibrosis in Extremities after Malignant Tumor Surgery (review) / 中国康复理论与实践

Secondary limb lymphedema is one of the common postoperative complications of breast cancer and gynecological malignant tumor. Tissue fibrosis is an important pathological change after lymphedema. It is also an important index to judge the severity and therapeutic effect of lymphedema. Tissue fibrosis can be evaluated indirectly from lymphedema or directly with instruments, and treated with comprehensive exercises, Heating and Bandage, and shock wave, etc.

Physical therapy in grassroot military medical units of pla: Current situation / 第二军医大学学报

Objective To know about the current situation and the existing problems concerning physical therapy in grassroot military medical units of PLA, so as to provide evidence for standard physical therapy in grassroot military medical units. Methods A total of 235 military physicians from the medical teams of division, brigade, and regiment of PLA were randomly surveyed on physical therapy. The collected data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2007. Results A total of 227 (96.59%) questionnaires were valid for analysis. Physical therapy was mainly used for military training-related injuries, including acute soft tissue injury (86.56%), lumbar muscle strain (85.03%), lumbar disc herniation (65.30%), frozen shoulder (55.17%), cervical spondylosis (47.76%), and osteoarthritis (37.28%). It was found that 87.67%, 67.84%, and 56.83% of the grassroot medical units were equipped with apparatuses for light therapy, traction, and intermediate-frequency therapy, respectively. As for safety protection, 47.14% of grassroot military medical teams had no measures for radiation protection, disinfection or quarantine. Conclusion Physical therapy is of great importance and has been popularized in grassroot military medical units of PLA. However, the advantages of physical therapy have not yet been fully utilized. The indictors of physical therapy are not accurately used and the related security protection is still not satisfactory. To make improvement, it needs to set up related regulations for both peacetime and wartime, to upgrade the skills of physicians, and improve the related equipments.