MADRID, 5 Apr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
People who practice physical activity on a regular basis recover better after colorectal cancer surgery; However, starting to exercise only after diagnosis has no effect on recovery, according to a thesis from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden).
In developing his thesis, Aron Onerup, who received his doctorate in surgery from the University’s Sahlgrenska Academy and is now a specialist physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, conducted an observational study of 115 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
Thus, the participants who had been physically inactive showed, three weeks after their operation, to have a greater risk of not feeling that they had physically recovered. In fact, the rate of postoperative complications was also more than four times higher than that of participants who had been physically active. Additionally, studies with similar results were conducted in individuals scheduled for operations to treat breast cancer and biliary tract disease as well.
The question was whether the chances of recovery could be improved for patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. In another study, 761 people were randomly assigned to receive routine, routine care or exercise program on their own for about two weeks before and four weeks after surgery for colorectal cancer.
However, this program, which included half an hour of moderate intensity exercise daily, had no effect on the self-reported physical recovery of the latter group, nor on the risk of complications, repeat surgery, readmission to hospital or hospitalization. length of hospital stay.
“Although the exercise study did not show any effect in the short postoperative period, it is possible that measures that lead to increased physical activity in the long term have positive health effects. The key is not to introduce measures in the health care until they have been scientifically evaluated, “says Onerup.
However, the big picture provides evidence that, by the time the need for an operation for biliary tract disease or colorectal cancer becomes apparent, people’s level of physical activity is clearly related to the subsequent course of the disease. your recovery.
“The research results indicate that there are more reasons to work for a population that is as physically active as possible, in addition to the benefits in terms of, for example, cardiovascular and mental health that are already known”, Onerup concludes.
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