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NEWS RELEASE For immediate release: November 13, 2002
As many as half of all individuals enrolled in exercise therapy drop out within the first six months, a trend that may be even more significant in women and older adults. These findings may contribute to future solutions to prevent poor adherence and non-compliance that undermine the potential benefits of exercise programs prescribed as rehabilitation for patients with, or at risk of, cardiac disease. The results of the investigation have been published in the November 2002 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise . "For most patients, traditional exercise therapy provides neither the motivation nor the instruction and practice needed to make a successful transition from structured center-based exercise to independent maintenance of physical activity," said Jack Rejeski, Ph.D., lead author of the study. The Cardiovascular Health and Activity Maintenance Program (CHAMP) is a 12-month randomized clinical trial being conducted at Wake Forest University. Researchers looked at the first three months of the trial in which a traditional rehabilitation program (including warm-up, walking, upper body strength training, cool-down and stretching exercises three days a week) is compared to a similar regimen of physical activity that is designed to gradually wean patients from supervised exercise and to use group counseling as a means of promoting an independent, physically-active lifestyle. The transition was facilitated by homework assignments and small-group counseling sessions. Participants discussed physical and psychological challenges of disability, exercise, and physical functioning in the counseling session. Social problem solving was a key principle of the group activity, participants were taught various self-regulatory skills, and lessons were augmented by behaviorally-oriented "homework" assignments. Regardless of treatment, the 129 participants who completed the investigation (average age, 65) significantly improved their performance on two types of exercise tests. In addition, participants reported a higher level of physical function and greater satisfaction with their ability to perform daily tasks. Although, as predicted, retention rates at three months did not differ between the two types of rehabilitation programs, there were important differences on the outcomes of interest as a function of both initial levels of physical function and assignment to either the traditional or group-mediated behavioral treatment arms of the study. For example, men with the lowest initial levels of physical function experienced the greatest improvements in performance when behavioral counseling was included in the treatment program. Also, men showed greater adherence to exercise than women and those in the group-mediated behavioral counseling condition had better rates of adherence than those in the traditional arm of the study. Independent of gender, participants in the group-mediated treatment who had the lowest baseline levels of self-reported function made the most improvement in self-reported difficulty with various daily tasks. The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 18,000 International, National and Regional members are dedicated to promoting and integrating scientific research education and practical applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health and quality of life.
NOTE: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise® is the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, and is available from Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins at 1-800-638-6423. For a complete copy of the research paper (Vol. 34, No. 11, pages 1705 - 1713) or to speak with a leading sports medicine expert on the topic, contact the Communications and Public Information Department at 317-637-9200. Visit ACSM online at www.acsm.org. The conclusions outlined in this news release are those of the researchers only, and should not be construed as an official statement of the American College of Sports Medicine.
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