Transforming waiting pauses into opportunity for physical activity: the "Activate your Wait" pilot study

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Physical activity is recognized as a major health determinant. However, the prevalence of inactivity can be as high as 80% in some adult subpopulations. From the urgent need to implement strategies to fight sedentary behaviour, considering that physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure, the pilot study "Activate your Wait" was born. The project aim is to transform waiting pauses during everyday life into opportunities to perform simple stretching and active mobilization exercises.

METHODS

The pilot study was carried out in 2019 at Terme S. Egidio (Italy). It was divided in three phases: in the pre-intervention a questionnaire was used to evaluate the interest in the project (96 responders); during the intervention, examples of simple exercises that people can do by themselves were illustrated and undertaken by about 120 participants; in the post-intervention an evaluation questionnaire was administered (71 responders).

RESULTS

The intervention aroused enthusiastic participation and high approval and resulted in an increase both in willingness to perform exercises during daily waiting pauses (68% vs 94%) and belief in positive results of physical activity on health (74% vs 96%).

CONCLUSIONS

In a context where the opportunities for physical activity are decreasing and a sedentary lifestyle has reached a high level, this project represents a contribution to the increase in the awareness of the importance of physical activity and the promotion of the culture of movement in the entire population, with an opportunity of easy accessibility in different contexts of life, at all ages.

Safety and efficacy of mesotherapy in musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials with meta-analysis

Objectives

To conduct a systematic review of randomized controlled trials about the safety (number and severity of adverse events) and efficacy (pain reduction and functional improvement) of mesotherapy in musculoskeletal disorders, and to compare them with other therapeutic options, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement.

Methods

A search of PubMed, Cochrane Library and Scopus database resulted in an initial total of 16,253 records. A total of 931 articles were included in the study. A final total of 7 articles, published from 1 Jan 1999 until 30 Apr 2020 were selected. Two independent reviewers selected potentially relevant studies based on the inclusion criteria for full-text reading. They evaluated the methodological quality of each study and included only studies of high methodological quality, according to the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale.

Results

Seven studies were included in the metaanalysis, and visual analogue scale scores before and after mesotherapy were considered. A statistically significant reduction in visual analogue scale score in the mesotherapy group was reported in comparison with the control group in all except one of the trials. Mesotherapy was found to be a safe procedure with mild and temporary side-effects, such as nausea, fatigue, numbness, sweating, headache, ecchymosis, bleeding, pain and local reaction at the injection site.

Conclusion

Mesotherapy proved to be more effective than systemic therapy in the treatment of local pain and functional limitations caused by a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. However, because of the heterogeneity of the analysed studies in terms of injected drugs, administration technique, associated treatments, frequency and total number of sessions, more randomized controlled trials are needed, comparing a standardized mesotherapy protocol with a systemic treatments.

Transforming waiting pauses into opportunity for physical activity: the “Activate your Wait” project

Physical activity is recognised as a major health determinant, with positive effects on health, environmental sustainability and economy. However, worldwide, 1 in 4 adults, and 3 in 4 adolescents do not currently meet the recommendations for physical activity set by the World Health Organization. Notably, the prevalence of inactivity varies considerably within and between countries, and can be as high as 80% in some adult subpopulations. From the urgent need to implement strategies to fight sedentary behaviour, and considering that physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure, the project “Activate your Wait” was born. The project aim is to transform the waiting pauses during everyday life into opportunities to perform simple stretching and active mobilization exercises. The pilot study was carried out in September 2019 at the Terme S. Egidio, Suio Terme Castelforte (Italy). It was divided in three phases: in the pre-intervention phase a questionnaire evaluated the interest in the project (96 responders); during the intervention phase, lasting three days, examples of simple exercises that people can do by themselves were illustrated and undertaken by about 120 participants; in the post-intervention an evaluation questionnaire was administered (71 responders). The intervention aroused great participation and high approval (97%), and resulted in an increase both in willingness to perform exercises during daily waiting breaks (68% vs 94%) and belief in positive results of physical activity on health (74% vs 96%). In a context where the opportunities for physical activity are decreasing and a sedentary lifestyle has reached a high level, this project represents a contribution to the increase in the awareness of the importance of physical activity and the promotion of the culture of movement in the entire population, with an opportunity of easy accessibility in different contexts of life, at all ages.

Key messages

Physical activity is a major determinant of health, therefore it is fundamental to take all possible opportunities to be active. Waiting pauses are the perfect chance to exercise.

["Activate your Wait" project : pilot study carried out at a thermal centre]

“Activate your wait” project: pilot study carried out at a thermal centre: Physical activity is recognised as a major health determinant, with positive effects on health, environmental sustainability and economy. National surveillance data show that one out of three Italians - adult and elderly alike - declares to be sedentary, with a progressively increasing trend. From the urgent need to implement strategies to promote physical activity the “Activate your Wait” (“Attiva l’Attesa”) project was born, aimed at transforming the waiting pauses during day to day life into opportunities to perform simple stretching and active mobilization exercises. The pilot study was carried out at the Terme S. Egidio, Suio Terme Castelforte (Latina). The results of the questionnaire distributed in the pre-intervention phase, aimed at assessing the users’ interest in the project and physical activity in general, are reported. The questionnaire was administrated in the waiting rooms in September 2018 and September 2019. A total of 129 subjects responded to the questionnaire: 43% declared themselves sedentary, 73% reported willingness to perform simple physical exercises while waiting, and 76% believed that physical activity during waiting moments could have a positive impact on health. The project’s subsequent goal is to identify suitable exercises to be proposed during the intervention period, which can be easily reproduced independently by users in their everyday life.