Edith Cowan University

About: Edith Cowan University is a education organization based out in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 4040 authors who have published 13529 publications receiving 339582 citations. The organization is also known as: Edith Cowan & ECU.

Exercise in Prevention and Management of Cancer

Abstract: Regular and vigorous physical exercise has been scientifically established as providing strong preventative medicine against cancer with the potential to reduce incidence by 40% The effect is strongest for breast and colorectal cancer; however, evidence is accumulating for the protective influence on prostate cancer, although predominantly for more advanced disease and in older men Following cancer diagnosis, exercise prescription can have very positive benefits for improving surgical outcomes, reducing symptom experience, managing side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, improving psychological health, maintaining physical function, and reducing fat gain and muscle and bone loss There is now irrefutable evidence from large prospective studies that regular exercise postdiagnosis will actually increase survivorship by 50%–60% with the strongest evidence currently for breast and colorectal cancers In our work with prostate cancer patients, we have found that exercise can limit or even reverse some of the androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) adverse effects by increasing muscle mass, functional performance, and cardiorespiratory fitness without elevating testosterone levels Hormone therapies for breast and prostate cancer can result in alarmingly increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and sarcopenia Increasingly, patients are questioning the benefit of some cancer treatments as the risk of morbidity and mortality from other chronic diseases begins to outweigh the initial cancer diagnosis Over three decades of research in exercise science and many hundreds of RCTs demonstrate the efficacy of appropriate physical activity for preventing and managing these secondary diseases Based on this evidence it is now clear to us that exercise is a critical adjuvant therapy in the management of many cancers and will greatly enhance the therapeutic effects of traditional radiation and pharmaceutical treatments by increasing tolerance, reducing side effects, and lowering risk of chronic diseases, even those not aggravated by cancer treatment While patients and their clinicians deal with their cancer, other chronic disease mechanisms continue unabated Anxiety, depression, poor nutritional choices, and a counterproductive rest strategy will accelerate these processes, while a well-designed exercise program adhered to by the patient and supported by the medical and exercise professionals will effectively control and even reverse these diseases and disabilities In the wide range of cancer populations that we work with, both young and old and with curative and palliative intent, our overwhelming experience is that exercise is first well tolerated, and benefits the patient

The Effect of Place Attachment on Pro-environment Behavioral Intentions of Visitors to Coastal Natural Area Tourist Destinations

Abstract: It has been hypothesized that as individuals become attached to a place, they are more likely to protect that place. Managers of natural area tourism destinations may be able to use this relationship to assist in sustainably managing such places. An on-site visitor survey was administered at Ningaloo Marine Park, Australia, to examine the effect of a multi-dimensional place attachment construct on pro-environment behavioral intentions. The behaviors encompassed three categories based on the perceived level of commitment and where the behaviors physically occurred. They included on-site actions by visitors, visitors telling others how to act on-site, and off-site actions to conserve the Marine Park. Structural equation modeling revealed place identity directly affecting all three behavioral categories, the effect increasing with the level of commitment required to undertake the pro-environment behaviors. This suggests that a sophisticated understanding of place identity is essential for the management of n...

What are the Physiological Mechanisms for Post-Exercise Cold Water Immersion in the Recovery from Prolonged Endurance and Intermittent Exercise?

Abstract: Intense training results in numerous physiological perturbations such as muscle damage, hyperthermia, dehydration and glycogen depletion. Insufficient/untimely restoration of these physiological alterations might result in sub-optimal performance during subsequent training sessions, while chronic imbalance between training stress and recovery might lead to overreaching or overtraining syndrome. The use of post-exercise cold water immersion (CWI) is gaining considerable popularity among athletes to minimize fatigue and accelerate post-exercise recovery. CWI, through its primary ability to decrease tissue temperature and blood flow, is purported to facilitate recovery by ameliorating hyperthermia and subsequent alterations to the central nervous system (CNS), reducing cardiovascular strain, removing accumulated muscle metabolic by-products, attenuating exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and improving autonomic nervous system function. The current review aims to provide a comprehensive and detailed examination of the mechanisms underpinning acute and longer term recovery of exercise performance following post-exercise CWI. Understanding the mechanisms will aid practitioners in the application and optimisation of CWI strategies to suit specific recovery needs and consequently improve athletic performance. Much of the literature indicates that the dominant mechanism by which CWI facilitates short term recovery is via ameliorating hyperthermia and consequently CNS mediated fatigue and by reducing cardiovascular strain. In contrast, there is limited evidence to support that CWI might improve acute recovery by facilitating the removal of muscle metabolites. CWI has been shown to augment parasympathetic reactivation following exercise. While CWI-mediated parasympathetic reactivation seems detrimental to high-intensity exercise performance when performed shortly after, it has been shown to be associated with improved longer term physiological recovery and day to day training performances. The efficacy of CWI for attenuating the secondary effects of EIMD seems dependent on the mode of exercise utilised. For instance, CWI application seems to demonstrate limited recovery benefits when EIMD was induced by single-joint eccentrically biased contractions. In contrast, CWI seems more effective in ameliorating effects of EIMD induced by whole body prolonged endurance/intermittent based exercise modalities.