Other researchers have looked at the potential benefits of ‘prefabrication’, an exercise to get a patient in shape before surgery. Most patients preparing for major surgery have only a few weeks between being diagnosed and heading to the operating room, so effective and prompt exercise intervention is critical, experts say.
In the studies included in the analysis, some HIIT sessions were around 18-20 minutes. The popular form of exercise “can make people fitter and faster,” he said. Cali Cliffordthe lead author of the review and a research fellow at the Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Otago, New Zealand.
Improve your fitness with HIIT
Most of the patients surveyed had undergone major abdominal surgery.Researchers find HIIT can improve fitness in patients “In a meaningful way,” Clifford said before surgery.
This improvement was measured using several measures of cardiovascular fitness, including the 6-minute walk test and improved peak oxygen uptake, a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during vigorous exercise. .
“This is important because the post-surgery body needs oxygen to recover and heal,” Clifford said.
In the 2022 survey Included in this review, participants aged 45 to 85 years undergoing major abdominal surgery were randomized to 14 sessions of HIIT over 4 weeks compared to standard care. Standard care usually includes general information about staying active and reducing alcohol and smoking before surgery, but not specific training programs, Clifford said.
In a 2022 study, HIIT sessions included approximately 30 minutes of stationary cycling. However, instead of cycling for 30 minutes straight, patients were instructed to alternate 1 minute of high-intensity cycling with the goal of reaching 90 percent of their maximum heart rate and 1 minute of active recovery. was done.
The study, co-authored by Clifford, We found significant improvements in peak oxygen uptake before surgery in just 12-14 sessions over 4 weeks.
The overall results of the large meta-analysis were limited by the fact that not all studies in the review relied on the same fitness measures or used the same HIIT routines. Researchers often defined his HIIT in different ways, with most exercise programs lasting him less than 4 weeks, but some interventions lasting him longer than 6 weeks. The medical problems faced by patients were also diverse.
“Overall, I think it’s good to focus on HIIT in particular,” he said. Daniel McIsaac, an associate professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Ottawa, was not involved in the new review. “But I think this review left us with more questions than answers.”
Reduced complications after HIIT
According to Clifford, HIIT exercise not only improved the patient’s strength, but also lowered the risk of post-surgery problems.
This study found that “prefabricated” HIIT exercise before surgery reduced the chance of postoperative complications by 56 percent, based on eight studies in the review reporting on postoperative complications in 770 patients. did.
In Clifford’s 2022 study, researchers measured complications by directly examining participants while they were in the hospital and recording complications. They also sent a follow-up questionnaire six weeks after surgery.
In addition, the review authors also investigated hospital length of stay. This study suggested that performing HIIT exercise before surgery may reduce hospital stay by approximately 3 days, but this result was not statistically significant, so no firm conclusions can be drawn. I could not do it.
Benefits of exercising before surgery
McIsaac, who has done his own research on prefabricated exercise, points out that the research in the review did not compare HIIT with other exercise interventions, such as moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. A traditional prefabricated program would likely include exercise such as brisk walking, jogging, biking and swimming for three to five weeks, he said.
It’s not possible to determine from the new review whether HIIT is more effective for rehabilitation than other exercise regimens, but Clifford’s team is working on this research, he said.
“I think anyone preparing for surgery can expect that if they can increase their level of physical activity and improve their nutritional status, they are likely to have better postoperative outcomes,” McIsaac said. Told. “This review suggests that if they are interested in high-intensity interval training, it may be beneficial to them. There is probably as much or more evidence that is likely to be similarly beneficial.”
