This review shows that relatively simple changes to diet and lifestyle can significantly, and rapidly, reduce the risks associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in terms of infection risk, severity of disease, and even disease-related mortality. A wide range of interventions including regular exercise, adequate sleep, plant-based diets, maintenance of healthy weight, dietary supplementation, and time in nature have each been shown to have beneficial effects for supporting more positive health outcomes with COVID-19, in addition to promoting better overall health. This paper brings together literature from these areas and presents the argument that non-pharmaceutical approaches should not be overlooked in our response to COVID-19. It is noted that, in several cases, interventions discussed result in risk reductions equivalent to, or even greater than, those associated with currently available vaccines. Where the balance of evidence suggests benefits, and the risk is minimal to none, it is suggested that communicating the power of individual actions to the public becomes morally imperative. Further, many lives could be saved, and many harms from the vaccine mandates avoided, if we were willing to embrace this lifestyle-centred approach in our efforts to deal with COVID-19.
Humans ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Diet ; Life Style ; Exercise/physiology*

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) with different time intervals on corticospinal excitability of the primary motor cortex (M1) and the upper limb motor function in healthy subjects and observe the after-effect rule of acupuncture. METHODS: Self-comparison before and after intervention design was adopted. Fifteen healthy subjects were included and all of them received three stages of trial observation, namely EA₀ group (received one session of EA), EA_6h group (received two sessions of EA within 1 day, with an interval of 6 h) and EA_48h group (received two sessions of EA within 3 days, with an interval of 48 h). The washout period among stages was 1 week. In each group, the needles were inserted perpendicularly at Hegu (LI 4) on the left side, 23 mm in depth and at a non-acupoint, 0.5 cm nearby to the left side of Hegu (LI 4), separately. Han's acupoint nerve stimulator (HANS-200A) was attached to these two needles, with continuous wave and the frequency of 2 Hz. The stimulation intensity was exerted higher than the exercise threshold (local muscle twitching was visible, and pain was tolerable by healthy subjects, 1-2 mA ). The needles were retained for 30 min. Using the single pulse mode of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technique, before the first session of EA (T0) and at the moment (T1), in 2 h (T2) and 24 h (T3) after the end of the last session of EA, on the left first dorsal interosseous muscle, the amplitude, latency (LAT), resting motor threshold (rMT) of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and the completion time of grooved pegboard test (GPT) were detected. Besides, in the EA_6h group, TMS was adopted to detect the excitability of M1 (amplitude, LAT and rMT of MEPs) before the last session of EA (T0*). RESULTS: The amplitude of MEPs at T1 and T2 in the EA₀ group, at T0* in the EA_6h group and at T1, T2 and T3 in the EA_48h group was higher when compared with the value at T0 in each group separately (P<0.001). At T1, the amplitude of MEPs in the EA₀ group and the EA_48h group was higher than that in the EA_6h group (P<0.001, P<0.01); at T2, it was higher in the EA₀ group when compared with that in the EA_6h group (P<0.01); at T3, the amplitude in the EA₀ group and the EA_6h group was lower than that of the EA_48h group (P<0.001). The LAT at T1 was shorter than that at T0 in the three groups (P<0.05), and the changes were not obvious at the rest time points compared with that at T0 (P > 0.05). The GPT completion time of healthy subjects in the EA₀ group and the EA_48h group at T1, T2 and T3 was reduced in comparison with that at T0 (P<0.001). The completion time at T3 was shorter than that at T0 in the EA_6h group (P<0.05); at T2, it was reduced in the EA_48h group when compared with that of the EA_6h group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in rMT among the three groups and within each group (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Under physiological conditions, EA has obvious after-effect on corticospinal excitability and upper limb motor function. The short-term interval protocol (6 h) blocks the after-effect of EA to a certain extent, while the long-term interval protocol (48 h) prolongs the after-effect of EA.
Humans ; Electroacupuncture ; Motor Cortex/physiology* ; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation/methods* ; Upper Extremity ; Exercise ; Muscle, Skeletal/physiology*

INTRODUCTION: A physiological profiling study was conducted to evaluate thermal strain as well as fluid and electrolyte balances on heat-acclimatised men performing a 72-km route march in a field setting. METHODS: 38 male soldiers (age range 18-23 years) participated in the study, as part of a cohort that marched for 72 km, with loads for about 26 hours. Core temperature and heart rate sensors were used for the duration of the march. Fluid and food intake and output were monitored for the duration of the march. Blood samples were taken one day before the march (pre-march), immediately after the march (Post 1) and on the 15^th day after the march to ascertain recovery (Post 2) to assess fluid and electrolyte profiles. RESULTS: Mean core temperature was within safe limits, ranging from 37.1 to 38.1°C throughout the march. There was an overall decrease in serum sodium levels, a decline in serum sodium concentration in 28 participants and three instances of hyponatraemia (serum sodium concentration <135 mmol/L). CONCLUSION Our study found low thermal strain heat-acclimatised individuals during a 72-km route march. However, there was an overall decrease in serum sodium levels, even when the participants were allowed to drink ad libitum. Challenges of exercise-associated hyponatraemia during prolonged activities remain to be addressed.
Humans ; Male ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Military Personnel ; Hyponatremia ; Water-Electrolyte Balance/physiology* ; Exercise/physiology* ; Sodium

Altitude ; Exercise/physiology* ; Heart Rate/physiology* ; Humans ; Lung ; Respiration

Objective: To evaluate the effects of exercise intervention on musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in nursing staff. Methods: In september 2021, we searched the articles on exercise intervention for nurses with musculoskeletal diseases in Embase, PubMed, ClinicalTrails, Wanfang, CNKI and other databases in September 2021, and the search period was from database creation to August 2021. The quality of article was evaluated by Cochrane bias risk assessment tool and MINORS. The systematic review method with narrative synthesis was used to analyze the research results. Results: A total of 7 studies were included, including 6 randomized controlled trials and 1 quasi-experiment. The sample size of the experimental group was 276, and the control group was 273. Depending on the type of exercise intervention, muscle strength training, muscle strength training+stretch/flexibility training, Back School program can reduce the local pain of nursing staff. Among them, muscle strength training can improve the nursing staff's muscle function and quality of life, muscle strength training+stretching/flexibility training can increase muscle strength, range of physical activity and self-efficacy, the Back School program is effective for improving poor posture. Conclusion: Exercise intervention is effective on controlling musculoskeletal disorder symptoms in nursing staff, managers can develop exercise strategies for different MSD symptoms.
Exercise Therapy/methods* ; Humans ; Muscle Strength/physiology* ; Musculoskeletal Diseases ; Nursing Staff ; Quality of Life

Neurocognitive impairment is a group of clinical syndromes characterized by impaired cognitive function and decreased motor ability. Non-pharmacological interventions such as physical exercise have advantages in the treatment of patients with neurocognitive impairment. Multicomponent exercise is a combination of various physical exercises, including strength training, endurance training, balance training and flexibility training, that can improve gait, balance and cardiopulmonary function by increasing muscle mass, strength and endurance in people with neurocognitive impairment, while also reducing the risk of falls in elders. This article reviews the benefits of multicomponent exercise for patients with neurocognitive impairment and its evaluation methods; also describes 4 intervention programs and their clinical application, to provide evidence for clinical practice and promote the application of multicomponent exercise in patients with neurocognitive impairment.
Accidental Falls ; Aged ; Cognition ; Exercise/physiology* ; Gait ; Humans ; Resistance Training

As an important exercise and energy metabolism organ of the human body, the normal maintenance of skeletal muscle mass is essential for the body to perform normal physiological functions. The autophagy-lysosome (AL) pathway is a physiological or pathological mechanism that is ubiquitous in normal and diseased cells. It plays a key role in the maintaining of protein balance, removing damaged organelles, and the stability of internal environment. The smooth progress of the autophagy process needs to go through multiple steps, which are completed under the coordinated action of multiple factors. Autophagy maintains the muscle homeostasis of a healthy body by removing cell components such as damaged myofibrils and isolated cytoplasmic proteins. Autophagy could also provide the initial energy required for cell proliferation, promote muscle regeneration and remodeling after injury. At the same time, autophagy disorder is also an important cause of age-related skeletal muscle atrophy. Autophagy could affect the response of skeletal muscle to exercise, and increasing the level of basic autophagy is beneficial to improve the adaptive response of skeletal muscle to exercise. This article summarizes the role and pathways of autophagy in the maintenance of skeletal muscle quality, in order to provide effective rehabilitation strategies for clinical prevention and treatment of muscle atrophy.
Autophagy/physiology* ; Exercise/physiology* ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal/pathology* ; Muscular Atrophy/pathology* ; Signal Transduction

Biochemistry/history* ; China ; Exercise/physiology* ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Sports Medicine/history*

Exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC) is prevalent among athletes during training or competitions where they are subjected to strenuous activities for a prolonged period. To manage this painful condition, health practitioners have used numerous treatment modalities having massage done with adjunct application such as cold compress or liniment. Studies show that it is debatable which combination of treatment modalities is more effective on people affected by EAMC. Hence, this study aimed to present evidence-based data to show if there is a difference in the effectiviteness of the two modalities in treating EAMC. A total of thirty-two (32) athletic participants were enrolled in this study and a total of 40 treatment trials were included in the analysis of data. Each participant performed strenuous exercises meant to induce muscle cramps. The onset of muscle cramps was identified using a set criteria. After which, treatment was applied and the length of time that the cramp was resolved was recorded. Determining relief from muscle cramps was based on the characteristic of muscle hardness and the level of pain by using a numerical rating scale. Results showed that though majority of the participants verbalized preference for the ice treatment, analysis of data using one-way ANOVA revealed that there is no evidence to prove that there is a difference in the effectivity among the treatment modalities performed. In conclusion, though all modalities performed were able to relieve the EAMC, the use of adjunct treatment in addition to massage and stretching may have a placebo effect component, which improves the patient's perception of greater efficacy.
Exercise ; Muscle Cramp ; Massage ; Physiology

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of exercises with different durations and intensities on mitochondrial autophagy and FUNDC1 in rat skeletal muscles. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 2- and 4-week control groups (Con), moderate-intensity exercise groups (M-ex groups, treadmill exercise, 16 m/min, 1 h/d, 6 d/week), and high-intensity exercise groups (Hi-ex groups, treadmill exercise, 35 m/min, 20 min/d, 6 d/week). The bilateral soleus muscles were separated after the intervention, and paraffin sections were prepared for transmission electron microscopy. ELISA method was used to detect the content of citrate synthase (CS). The co-localizations of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)/cytochrome c oxidase IV (COX-IV), FUNDC1/COX-IV and LC3/FUNDC1 were observed by immunofluorescent staining in frozen sections. The skeletal muscle mitochondria were extracted, and the expression of autophagy-related proteins, including AMPKα, p-AMPKα, Unc-51 like kinase 1 (ULK1), FUNDC1, LC3 and p62, were detected by Western blot. The results showed that exercise increased mitochondrial function, i.e. peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator-1α (PGC-1α), COX-I protein expression levels and CS content. There was no difference of mitochondrial function parameters between 2-week M-ex and 2-week Hi-ex groups, while mitochondrial function of 4-weeks Hi-ex group was significantly lower than that of 4-week M-ex group. Under the same exercise intensity, mitochondrial autophagy activation in skeletal muscle of 4-week exercise was higher than that in 2-week exercise group; Under the same duration of exercise, mitochondrial autophagy activation of Hi-ex group was higher than that in M-ex group. Both 2- and 4-week exercise intervention increased LC3/COX-IV, COX-IV/FUNDC1, and FUNDC1/LC3 co-localizations. Exercise increased LC3-II/LC3-I ratio, down-regulated p62 protein expression level, up-regulated FUNDC1, ULK1 protein expression levels and AMPKα phosphorylation, and the changes of these proteins in 4-week Hi-ex group were significantly greater than those in 4-week M-ex group. These results suggest exercise induces mitochondrial autophagy in skeletal muscles, and the activity of autophagy is related to the duration and intensity of exercise. The induction mechanism of exercise may involve the mediation of FUNDC1 expression through AMPK-ULK1 pathway.
Animals ; Autophagy ; Exercise Therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Membrane Proteins/physiology* ; Mitochondria ; Mitochondrial Proteins/physiology* ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley