Team Name |
Lymphomaniacs (Positive Motion Physiotherapy) |
Who you represent |
Lymphoedema study group - study conducted by Dr Kate Pumpa, University of Canberra |
Names and roles of any celebrities or people of note on your team? |
Liz Turner, our team captain! |
Other information about your team eg
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Exercise as medicine - lymphoedema study A number of Dragons Abreast ACT paddlers have recently completed a study conducted by Dr Kate Pumpa of the Centre for Research and Action in Public Health at the University of Canberra. The study was conducted in collaboration with Dr Prue Cormie, Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Vario Health Institute at Edith Cowan University in Perth. Research at the Vario Health Institute focuses on the use of exercise as medicine for the prevention, treatment and management of chronic disease as well as for maintaining health and physical function. The Institute is internationally recognised for their work in cancer and has been involved with the establishment of the Cancer Council Western Australia Guidelines for Implementing Exercise Programs for Cancer Survivors, the Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) National Position Stand on Exercise for Cancer Survivors, and the influential American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Consensus Statement on Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors. Kate’s study was conducted over a 12 week period, with two-thirds of participants participating in weight training at Club Pink in Belconnen and in Tuggeranong. The remaining third are the control group, who have just commenced the exercise programme. The exercise programme was divided into two groups, one doing high intensity training, the other low intensity. What this means in practice is that the high intensity group were lifting the maximum weight for each individual for a low number of repetitions, and the low intensity group lifting a lower weight for more repetitions. The programme is tailored for the individual, so no two participants were doing exactly the same programme with the same weights. Before commencing, we all took part in a preliminary testing process involving a DEXA scan, which shows lean body mass to body fat ratio, and also shows the difference between one arm and the other – in my case the difference between my left and right arms is 700gms, or 23%. Other testing involved a bioimpedance meter, which also shows the difference between the lymphoedema limb and the normal limb, measurements of both arms, lifting weights to maximum capacity and maximum repetitions, chair rises, and hand grips, which show general fitness. I took part in the Belconnen group – other DA participants in Belconnen were Lee and Susi, with Anna and Mary Lou now participating in the delayed action group, they have commenced a high intensity set of exercises. Club Pink donated the memberships for the 3 month period, and Kate and her colleagues donated their time, before and after normal working hours, to conduct the study. The whole group enjoyed the classes, showing up bright and early to commence the warmup, and lifting weights with enthusiasm. We had lots of fun, there was a fair bit of laughter and chat as we swapped machines. Naturally we tried to recruit all the non-paddlers to Dragons Abreast! Once we finished the 12 week study period, we went through all the testing once again to see if there were improvements. Kate can’t stop smiling because preliminary results are indicating an improvement in each of the participants’ lymphoedema arms, and of course in our general fitness. Once all the testing is complete we will be provided with detailed information about the results. So without getting too far ahead of myself, and waiting for more results both from Canberra and from Perth, it seems that old advice given to us about not lifting weight with the lymphoedema arm could prove to be totally erroneous, and the more weight the better! So keep up the paddling, as it contributes to general fitness, flexibility and well-being, and you may like to visit the gym as well! |