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The results of their training program, which was launched in full confinement with 20 Amac-Gema volunteers, have been published in the prestigious scientific journal 'Supportive cancer care'.
A Zaragoza team led by the researcher from the San Jorge University Lucia Sagarra, doctor in Physical Activity Sciences and graduate in Nursing, has just published in the prestigious scientific journal 'Supportive cancer care' the results of a study that demonstrates the benefits obtained by women survivors of cancer breast after completing an online physical exercise program carried out during confinement.
Within the framework of this research, which began in January 2020, was carried out a free training program aimed at patients with breast cancer -stage I-III- who were on prolonged hormonal treatment. "Initially it was intended to be carried out at the headquarters of the Zaragoza association Amac-gema, but Due to the circumstances of the pandemic, everything was moved to online format"says Sagarra, who positively highlights the adherence of these volunteers to the program, as well as the involvement of the team of professionals that has made this study possible.
Within the framework of the program, 15 women with breast cancer of the Amac-gema association carried out one hour a day (twice a week) of supervised online strength training, which consisted of a part of activation and warm-up, another main part of moderate physical exercise and a return to calm.
Once the training routine was completed, this researcher and her team performed a daily follow up of how the patients had found themselves, who were expressing their sensations, impressions and other data that they required for the study through a group of WhatsApp. "We did an initial assessment that was carried out pre-pandemic and a final assessment when the confinement restrictions began to relax. In total - says Sagarra - 15 women completed the study. Those who were discharged were due to coronavirus, either because they were admitted or were infected," he adds.
María José Rivas, president of the Zaragoza association Amac-gema, was one of the participants in the study, which he had to leave - he says - after detecting a heart problem. "I I had to withdraw because an anomaly was detected in the study, and I continue taking pills for arrhythmias. If I had not participated in the study, I would not have realized, because I'm not aware that it's happening to me. But what the oncologist told me was derived from radiation," says this Zaragoza native, who praises the training program launched with other association volunteers. Most of them, he explains, were people "who had not done physical activity" at least since the detection of this pathology. "Lucía controlled our weight, she did some diagnostic tests, and All patients had in common that they were not active. Then confinement caught us, and since the program was three or four months old, the first ones were done at the association's headquarters, but then we had to close due to health recommendations," he recalls.
Positive results despite confinement
The results of the study 'COVID-19: Effects of an online training program on female breast cancer survivors in times of pandemic', which were published a few weeks ago in the prestigious scientific journal 'Supportive cancer care' demonstrate the benefits that the training program had in this group of patients and volunteers.
The main gains that these women obtained in full confinement concern not only the maintenance of the body weight (by not increasing it in this period), but also to a significant increase in muscle mass in legsIn the strength improvement of manual grip and the improvement of aerobic capacity, all quantified through various devices and field tests.
"In the case, for example, of fat and muscle It was measured through densitometry in the laboratory, which is one of the most precise tools to measure body composition parameters," indicates this researcher, who praises the results obtained within the framework of this program, highlighting that it would not have been possible without the commitment and adherence of all her volunteers. .
"In full confinement, when we couldn't do anything and everyone took to making cakes at home, It is a very great achievement because you are of They gained muscle and improved physical tests without gaining weight or fat", she points out. In fact, some of the volunteers who participated in the study remember that "The most desired moment of the day was having to connect to the computer to train".
A consolidated "habit of life"
From Aragonese association Amac-gema They also pointed out, on the occasion of the return of the solidarity march to Parque Grande, the "paradigm shift" that there has been with regard to recommendations from doctors, who are increasingly inclined to "prescribe" sport to these of.
Sagarra, for his part, points out that There is scientific evidence that physical exercise, either during oncological treatment or already in the survival phase, produces improvements that have been tested in aspects related to quality of life, reduction of fatigue, improvement and control of symptoms derived from treatment, improvement in functional capacity and other aspects related to anxiety and depression. However, he emphasizes that there are certain difficulties in this regard, as a recent study shows. "Recently, a very powerful article was also published that points out that one of the barriers is that cancer patients cannot do physical exercise. limited knowledge about specific guidelines and lack of resources to guide and prescribe these trainings by doctors," reports this researcher, who gives some recommendations for those who find themselves in a process of this type. Among other activities, she is committed to a coordinated strength and cardio workout, and insists on the importance of doing a muscular work, in this case strength, because it has been shown that, in the case of cancer patients, the muscle will have abilities immunomodulatory, as it is an organ that is capable of releasing substances with antitumor powers and modifying, at a physiological level, the tumor environment, since it is supplied by the same substrate that feeds the tumor.
"We know that, in the case of women with breast cancer, relapses (relapses) are caused by secondary cardiovascular disease that can be derived from therapies such as prolonged hormonal treatment. In this sense, physical exercise and the immunomodulatory power of muscle will be able to attenuate that chronic inflammation that is associated with obesity. In female survivors, the risk of relapse or premature death is attributed to cardiovascular disease, and hence the importance of physical exercise not only being present in the treatment phase. to reduce side effects, but It has to be a consolidated habit of life to avoid a secondary disease of late onset"concludes this scientist.
