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Augmented exercise in the treatment of deconditioning from major burn injury
Barbara J de Lateur1, Gina Magyar-Russell, Melissa G Bresnick
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Objective:
To investigate the efficacy of a 12-week exercise program in producing greater improvement in aerobic capacity in adult burn survivors, relative to usual care.
Design:
Randomized, controlled, double-blinded trial.
Setting:
Burn center.
Participants:
A population-based sample of 35 adult patients admitted to a burn center for treatment of a serious burn injury.
Intervention:
A 12-week, 36-session, aerobic treadmill exercise program where work to quota (WTQ) participants intensified their exercise according to preset quotas and work to tolerance (WTT) participants continued to their tolerance. Participants completed a maximal stress test at baseline and 12 weeks to measure physical fitness.
Main Outcome Measure:
Maximal aerobic capacity.
Results:
The WTT and the WTQ exercise groups both made significant improvements in aerobic capacity from baseline to 12 weeks (t=-3.60, P< or =.01; t=-3.17, P< or =.01, respectively). The control group did not (t=-1.39, P=.19). WTT and WTQ participants demonstrated significantly greater improvements in aerobic capacity in comparison to the control group members (F=4.6, P< or =.05). The WTT and WTQ groups did not differ significantly from each other with regard to their respective improvements in aerobic capacity (F=.014, P=.907).
Conclusions:
The aerobic capacity of adult burn survivors can be improved with participation in a structured, 12-week exercise program after injury.
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