TITLE:
High-Intensity Interval Training v/s Steady-State Cardio in Rehabilitation of Neurological Patients
AUTHORS:
Thorin Thorbjørnssønn Birkeland
KEYWORDS:
Neurological Diseases, Neuropathies, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Steady-State Cardio, Exercise
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation,
Vol.11 No.2,
May
8,
2023
ABSTRACT: Neuropathy
is nerve damage that can cause chronic neuropathic pain, which is challenging
to cure and has a significant financial burden. Exercise therapies, including
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and steady-state cardio, are being explored as potential treatments for
neuropathic pain. This systematic review compares the effectiveness of
HIIT and steady-state cardio for improving
function in neurological patients. This
article provides an overview of the
systematic review conducted on the effects of exercise on neuropathic
patients, with a focus on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and
steady-state cardio. The authors conducted a comprehensive search of various
databases, identified relevant studies based on predetermined inclusion
criteria, and used the EPPI automation application to process the data. The final
selection of studies was based on validity and relevance, with redundant
articles removed. The
article reviews four studies that compare high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to
moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT)
on various health outcomes. The studies found that HIIT can improve
aerobic fitness, cerebral blood flow, and brain function in stroke patients;
lower diastolic blood pressure more than MICT and improve insulin sensitivity and skeletal muscle mitochondrial content
in obese individuals, potentially helping with the prevention and
management of type 2 diabetes. In people
with multiple sclerosis, acute exercise can decrease the plasma
neurofilament light chain while increasing the flow of the kynurenine pathway. The available clinical and preclinical data suggest that further study on high-intensity
interval training (HIIT) and its potential to alleviate neuropathic pain is
justified. Randomized controlled trials are needed to investigate the type,
intensity, frequency, and duration of exercise, which could lead to consensus
and specific HIIT-based advice for patients with neuropathies.