Herein, we report our experience of a patient whose recurrent pelvic cancer was complicated by obturator hernia after cervical cancer surgery. Regardless of the type of carcinoma, recurrent pelvic cancer tends to be complicated by neuropathic pain. On the other hand, obturator hernia is also often complicated by the similar neuropathic pain, which is referred to as Howship-Romberg symptom. However, it is relatively a rare disease that is considered difficult to make a diagnosis. In the case of this report, the patient had already developed neuropathic pain in the inside of the left thigh when she was admitted to our hospital, and began to develop a similar symptom on the right side during the course of follow-up. Despite the additional administration of analgesic adjuvant, the pain in the right thigh did not improve, and she began to develop heat sensation and redness in the extensive area from the thigh to the knee. CT scan revealed subcutaneous emphysema image and abscess formation. Based on the results of the examination, the patient’s right thigh was diagnosed as caused by the digestive tract incarcerated by obturator hernia rupturing into the right limb. The differentiation of obturator hernia is difficult to make, but its early stage diagnosis might make it possible to evade the aggravation of the symptom by manual reposition. In conclusion, when recurrent pelvic cancer was found to be complicated by neuropathic pain, it is critical to make an appropriate diagnosis taking into account the potential obturator hernia at an early stage.

Habitual aerobic exercise decreases arterial stiffness, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and increases aerobic exercise capacity. Exercise habits can be difficult to maintain over time. We sought to determine if the prospect of participating in a sports tourism event (mountain climbing) helped older adults maintain increased aerobic exercise capacity and decreased arterial stiffness after a supervised training program. Forty community-dwelling middle-aged and older individuals were divided into training (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. The training group participated in six weeks of face-to-face exercise intervention (walking, 60%–75% of age-predicted maximal heart rate, 35–50 min/day, 1 day/week) and was additionally offered home-based walking (45 min/day, 2–4 days/week). During the same period, the control group was asked not to change their lifestyle. In the last session of the exercise program, we announced a mountain climbing event planned for six months in the future. The participants were encouraged to maintain their exercise habits leading up to the event. Arterial stiffness (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity) and maximal oxygen uptake were measured before and after the six-week intervention and two weeks before the mountain climbing event. In the training group, arterial stiffness decreased, and maximal oxygen uptake increased after the intervention; these improvements were successfully maintained until the mountain climbing event. These parameters did not change significantly in the control group. Sports tourism may motivate older adults to maintain their exercise habits after a supervised training program.

In Japan, where the population is aging, it is important to train exercise instructors who promote health in older adults. Previous studies demonstrated that an intergenerational program that was not focused on exercise improved university students’ perceptions of older adults, but the effects of an intergenerational exercise-related program have not been explored. This study investigated whether obtaining experience in providing exercise instruction to older adults improved university students’ attitudes toward these adults and their willingness to acquire exercise instruction-related qualifications. Second-year university students majoring in sport and health sciences were divided into intervention (n = 29) or control (n = 33) groups. Students in the intervention group participated in a 5-session program that involved choreographing exercise with music and giving exercise instructions to community-dwelling older adults. In the final session, the students and older adults performed the exercise together, and this session was videotaped. Explicit attitudes toward older adults improved from before to after the program in the intervention group. The percentage of students in the intervention group who were willing to acquire exercise instruction-related qualifications was greater after the program than before it. In the control group, there were no detectable differences in these measures before and after the study period. Students’ feelings (i.e., vitality, stability, pleasure, and arousal) acutely improved after each session in the intervention group. These results may imply that after experiencing the provision of exercise instruction to older adults, university students’ explicit attitudes toward these adults and their willingness to obtain exercise instruction-related qualifications were increased.