Physical Activity in Adults With Fatigue After Cancer Treatment

Physical activity is recommended for the management of cancer-related fatigue (CRF), yet the evidence is primarily based on interventions delivered during cancer treatment, with no eligibility criterion for fatigue. There is a need to examine the quantity and quality of the existing literature on physical activity for clinically-relevant CRF that continues after cancer treatment (post-cancer fatigue). The objective of this systematic review was to summarize and evaluate the effect of physical activity on post-cancer fatigue in adults, using randomized trials where fatigue was an eligibility criterion. Studies were included if they: included adult participants with a cancer diagnosis who had completed initial cancer treatments (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy); explicitly stated that fatigue was a participant eligibility/inclusion criterion, regardless of how this was described or assessed; involved a physical activity intervention; measured fatigue as a primary or secondary outcome. A previous systematic search was updated and electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE(R), Ovid MEDLINE(R) and In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and CINAHL) were last searched on October 13, 2020. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for randomized trials. A random-effects meta-analysis for the severity of fatigue across different scales at the end of the intervention was conducted. A total of 1035 participants were randomized across 19 studies. We estimate that less than 10% of the randomized trials of physical activity for CRF include people with post-cancer fatigue. The effect of physical activity on post-cancer fatigue was modest and variable (Hedge’s g -0.40; p = 0.010; 95% prediction intervals -1.41 to 0.62). Most studies had an unknown or high risk of bias, there was substantial heterogeneity between trials and evidence for the effect of physical activity on post-cancer fatigue was graded as low certainty. Including people with clinically relevant fatigue is a priority for future research in cancer survivorship. Additional transparently reported randomized clinical trials are needed to better understand the benefits of physical activity for post-cancer fatigue.

Nature of Our Literature

Scientists rely upon an accurate scientific literature in order to build and test new theories about the natural world. In the past decade, observational studies of the scientific literature have indicated that numerous questionable research practices and poor reporting practices may be hindering scientific progress. In particular, 3 recent studies have indicated an implausibly high rate of studies with positive (i.e., hypothesis confirming) results. In sports medicine, a field closely related to kinesiology, studies that tested a hypothesis indicated support for their primary hypothesis ~70% of the time. However, a study of journals that cover the entire field of kinesiology has yet to be completed, and the quality of other reporting practices, such as clinical trial registration, has not been evaluated. In this study we retrospectively evaluated 300 original research articles from the flagship journals of North America (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise), Europe (European Journal of Sport Science), and Australia (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport). The hypothesis testing rate (~64%) and positive result rate (~81%) were much lower than what has been reported in other fields (e.g., psychology), and there was only weak evidence for our hypothesis that the positive result rate exceeded 80%. However, the positive result rate is still considered unreasonably high. Additionally, most studies did not report trial registration, and rarely included accessible data indicating rather poor reporting practices. The majority of studies relied upon significance testing (~92%), but it was more concerning that a majority of studies (~82%) without a stated hypothesis still relied upon significance testing. Overall, the positive result rate in kinesiology is unacceptably high, despite being lower than other fields such as psychology, and most published manuscripts demonstrated subpar reporting practices

Why Would You Referee?

Adopting a creative yet novel autoethnographic approach, this study explores the experiences of the first author, a newly qualified footballing official. In doing so, the study provides a first person account to showcase the realities of refereeing whereby adding to a small pool of refereeing literature in the process. In providing an evocative account with a theoretical analysis, the research aims to both showcase and explain the demands associated with the position. Therefore, by constructing the said narratives in an easy to understand manner, the study looks to showcases the challenges associated with officiating to a broad audience. While, the study gives a viable explanation to why many newly qualified referees drop out from the role, the study hopes to inform and subsequently aid aspiring officials in their ongoing development.

Let’s build an app for that

The promotion of physical activity behavior change among adults with cancer is a research priority. Within this field, increasing attention is being devoted to the use of health technology, which includes mobile phones and applications, or apps, to support and deliver physical activity behavior change interventions. While building a mobile app is a popular proposal among exercise oncology researchers, little practical information exists on how this process should be done or what considerations researchers should take in collaboration with participants and industry. The present article provides an overview of recent experiences with app development in exercise oncology and outlines several recommendations for future research. Methods and Results: After forming an interdisciplinary team of researchers, industry partners, and exercise oncology program participants, an iterative, user-centered app improvement process was followed to collect feedback and make meaningful changes to an existing mobile health app for its use in exercise oncology. Participant feedback was summarized and addressed collaboratively via open discussion and detailed action plans. Changes made include enhanced introductory materials for the app and improvements to usability and personalization. Some requests remain to be addressed in future updates. Two challenges identified during the app improvement process were balancing the unique needs and priorities of all parties, as well as addressing the variable feedback from a variable population of adults with cancer. Conclusions and significance: A multidisciplinary participant-oriented app improvement process led to meaningful updates to the mobile application of interest, preparing researchers to carry out an evaluation of its effectiveness within exercise oncology. Furthermore, based on lessons learned, the research team present key recommendations to consider in future mobile app research before, during, and after the development process.

Expecting to teach a novel golf putting task did not enhance retention performance: A replication attempt of Daou and colleagues

While research has identified several practice variables that purportedly enhance motor learning, recent replication failures highlight the importance of conducting high-powered, pre-registered replications. The "expecting to teach" phenomenon was first reported in the motor learning literature by Daou and colleagues and suggested learners benefit from practicing with the understanding they will later need to teach the skill. The extant data have been mixed but generally positive. While expecting to teach has been shown to enhance motor learning of a golf putt, the mechanisms linked with this benefit are yet to be determined. As such, this study sought to replicate the expecting to teach effect and to extend those findings by exploring participants’ thought processes. Participants (N = 76) were randomly assigned to one of two groups in which they were told that they were learning a golf putt in order to 1) be tested on the skill or 2) teach the skill to another individual. On Day 1, participants completed pre-test putts, a pre-acquisition intrinsic motivation inventory (IMI), a 2-minute study of an instructional booklet, 50 practice putts and a post-acquisition IMI. During practice, participants were also afforded opportunities to continue studying the booklet and to complete additional putts. Participants returned 24 hours later to complete a retention, a transfer (50-cm longer golf-putt), and a free recall test, as well as a post-study survey to reveal thoughts they engaged in after practice but before (or during) the retention test. Similar to Daou et al., no significant differences were found with study time, number of acquisition putts, or motivation. However, golf-putting performance during retention resulted in no differences for radial error, g = -0.13 (95% C.I. [-0.55, 0.29]), between the two groups and no differences were shown for the recall test. The present study fails to replicate the benefits reported in the original experiments.

Peak vertical jump power predicts radial bone strength better than hand grip strength in healthy individuals.

Osteoporosis is considered a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences. However, measuring bone strength in children is complex and creates a practical problem for health professionals, teachers and parents. A non-invasive measure of muscle fitness that correlates to bone strength may provide a means to monitor bone strength throughout the lifespan. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between common muscle function tests (relative grip strength (RGS), peak vertical jump power (PP)) and bone strength in the radial diaphysis and epiphysis of a healthy population. Healthy participants (n=147 (81 female)) performed a bilateral grip strength test using a hand dynamometer, and a maximal vertical jump test. Peak vertical jump power was calculated from maximal jump height using the Sayer’s equation. Moment of inertia (MoI), cortical area (CoA), cortical bone mineral density (cBMD), and polar strength-strain index (SSIp) were measured using peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT) to determine bone strength parameters at the 66% radial site (predominantly cortical bone). At the 4% site (trabecular bone site), bone mineral content (vBMC.tb), bone mineral density (vBMD.tb), total area (ToA.tb) and bone strength index (BSIc) were measured. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses determined the relationship of each muscle function test for each bone envelope (cortical and trabecular). For the cortical bone measurements: RGS, and PP were both significantly correlated with CoA, MoI, and SSIp. Peak vertical jump power predicted bone strength parameters to a greater extent compared to RGS. For the trabecular bone envelope, RGS was not a predictor of bone strength however peak power was a significant predictor of bone strength parameters. Peak vertical jump power was a significant predictor of bone strength at both trabecular and cortical radial sites. Interestingly PP, a lower limb measurement explained the most variance in the bone strength of the upper limb.

Influence of Public Health England’s Change4Life Disney Branded 10-minute Shake Ups on Children’s Post Activity Affective Response

Physical activity (PA) is considered essential to overall health, yet it is consistently reported that children worldwide are failing to meet the recommended levels. Affective responses are a potential predictor of long-term PA engagement due to their bidirectional relationship with PA. One way to influence the affective response to PA may be to influence the environment in which it takes place; a method of doing this is to immerse children using a narrative with characters. The aim of this research was to compare the effects of using a Disney branded, compared to a non-branded, PA session on children’s post activity affective responses and perceived effort of PA. 32 children participated (aged between 4-11 years) and they each completed four sessions of branded activities, and four sessions of unbranded activities. The results showed that children had similar positive affective responses and perceived effort to branded and unbranded activities, and qualitative feedback from parents supported this. However, a secondary finding from qualitative thematic analysis was that parents considered branding a key contributing factor to children’s enjoyment and the effort they put into the PA sessions. Future research into influencing the affective response through the environment should carefully consider how to capture this during the activity. Lastly, the research was conducted during the period of the COVID-19 lockdown and so should be interpreted in this context. Conceptual replication outside of this should be an aim of future research.