# How does sport participation contribute to total physical activity, health, function and wellbeing in regional Victoria?

# The effect of endurance exercise on cardiovascular function and movement efficiency in community level cycling

# Efficacy of e-Bike use for improving health and function

Efficacy of e-Bike use for improving health and function

The benefits of active travel, and cycling, on health have been well researched with a recent systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrating the lowest risk of CVD mortality with 130 minutes per week of cycling at an average, self-selected pace (Zhao et al., 2021). In terms of e-biking, studies have reported that e-biking enables people to achieve moderate levels of physical activity (Sperlich et al., 2012) in addition to reducing travel time when compared to push bikes (Fishman & Cherry, 2016) however, the impacts on health are less clear.

Led by Dr Rodrigo Bini, the E-biking for Human Health project incorporates three individual studies that aim to assess the efficacy of e-bike use for improving health and function in sedentary people. The project consists of an observational study identifying if current health and functional status impacts e-bike uptake in sedentary people as well as an intervention study that will assess changes in physical fitness following a short, unsupervised e-bike aerobic training program. A final randomised control study will build on these research outcomes by comparing the differences between e-bikes, walking and education in health and fitness outcomes of sedentary people.

Progress

Three e-bikes were purchased by the Holsworth Research Initiative for the project in mid-2022. This enabled pilot trials to commence followed by participant recruitment and subsequent data collection. Participants were required to attend La Trobe University Bendigo campus for physical fitness and health assessments as well as a series of familiarity trials before being provided with an e-bike for use for a period of four weeks. Data collection is almost complete with the remaining three participants currently completing their four-week block of unsupervised aerobic training. Following this, analysis of the data will take place and a draft manuscript will be prepared. The expected project completion date for both study one and two is January 2024. The final study in the E-biking for Human Health project is contingent on external funding with a projected start date of January 2024.

We are so pleased to be contributing to the literature on e-biking for human health and can’t wait to report on the findings of these studies in 2024.

Zhao, Y., Hu, F., Feng, Y., Yang, X., Li, Y., Guo, C., … & Hu, D. (2021). Association of Cycling with Risk of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: A Systematic Review and Dose–Response Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies. Sports Medicine, 51, 1439-1448.

Fishman, E., and C. Cherry. 2016. E-bikes in the Mainstream: Reviewing a Decade of Research. Transport Reviews 36: 72–91.

Sperlich, B., C. Zinner, K. Hebert-Losier, D.P. Born, and H.C. Holmberg. 2012. Biomechanical, Cardiorespiratory, Metabolic and Perceived Responses to Electrically Assisted Cycling. European Journal of Applied Physiology 112: 4015–4025.

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This study was made possible as a result of funding received from the Holsworth Research Initiative Small Grant Scheme. Holsworth Research Initiative Stream Leaders Associate Professor Brett Gordon and Dr Daniel Wundersitz co-authored the paper with Associate Professor Gordon recently highlighting the importance of such research to regional and rural areas.

It is important to identify potential treatments for obesity as we know that regional and rural areas have greater rates of obesity and more commonly poorer health outcomes. 

Dr Van Schaik is quick to understate the findings in terms of weight loss and caffeine and capsicum annuum fruit powder supplementation as a potential treatment for obesity but does suggest that the results provide a basis for pharmacologically targeting the receptors on adipose tissue that caffeine and capsicum annuum fruit powder act upon.

Dr Van Schaik isn’t trying to minimise his findings, he is acknowledging the preliminary nature of the investigation and that although supplementation in the present study resulted in a large effect on glucose metabolism, it is still unknown what drives this response. He suggests that the reduction in blood glucose levels due to caffeine and capsicum annuum fruit powder supplementation could be due to changes in insulin signalling and that this is a logical direction for future research. Dr Van Schaik also proposes that the study should be replicated in different cohorts including women, overweight individuals and those experiencing metabolic dysfunction to determine if caffeine and capsicum annuum fruit powder supplementation has the same outcomes on energy metabolism, fat oxidation and glucose homeostasis.

Congratulations to Dr Lachlan Van Schaik and his research team on contributing to the literature on such an important topic! You can read the full article published in Frontiers in Physiology here.

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Miss Palmer and her supervisory team including HRI Director Professor Michael Kingsley and Human Performance Stream Leaders Dr Rodrigo Bini and Dr Daniel Wundersitz, investigated the relationship between residual neuromuscular fatigue and subsequent match and training activity in professional women’s basketball. The PhD was made possible through a partnership between La Trobe University and the Bendigo Basketball Association.

The results are in

The findings indicated that neuromuscular fatigue does influence both training and on-court activity in professional women’s basketball. More specifically,

# Players displayed neuromuscular fatigue before a 1/3 of all training sessions

# Supramaximal activity was 5.7% less during matches when players were fatigued prior to matches

# Moderate-vigorous activity was 3.7% less during matches when players were fatigued prior to matches

# When fatigued prior to training, players displayed reduced average intensity, maximal and supramaximal activity

Practical implications

Residual neuromuscular fatigue reduces the amount of supramaximal activity that professional women basketball players perform in subsequent training sessions and matches. To address this, practices should be implemented to minimize residual neuromuscular fatigue while ensuring a sufficient amount of training is undertaken to maximize physiological adaptation. Read the full paper here.

Still want more? You can read more of Jodie’s research below or follow her on Twitter @jodiepalmer08 to keep updated on future research.

# Palmer, J. A., Bini, R., Wundersitz, D., & Kingsley, M. (2022). On-Court Activity and Game-Related Statistics during Scoring Streaks in Basketball: Applied Use of Accelerometers. Sensors, 22(11), 4059.

# Palmer, J., Bini, R., Wundersitz, D., & Kingsley, M. (2021). Criterion validity of an automated method of detecting live play periods in basketball. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3.

# Palmer, J., Wundersitz, D., Bini, R., & Kingsley, M. (2021). Effect of player role and competition level on player demands in basketball. Sports, 9(3), 38.

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Research from the Active Rural Individuals stream is focused on helping people safely and effectively manage health conditions through exercise.

The La Trobe Make a Difference campaign

The fundraising campaign “Make a Difference” launched in 2017. The second phase launched in 2018 once initial targets were met with the campaign now extended, with a $200 million target to be reached by 2027. We at the Holsworth Research Initiative are proud to be a part of this milestone.

Watch the Make the Difference campaign video.

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Did you miss Dr Stephen Barrett present at the La Trobe Rural Health School Seminar Series? He delivered an excellent presentation on the promotion of physical activity in public hospitals. You can view the full presentation on the official HRI Youtube channel. While you’re there, check out A/Prof Monica Maly’s presentation on biomechanics and osteoarthritis from the HRI Seminar Series in May.

You can read more of Dr Barrett’s research below;

Barrett, S., Begg, S., O’Halloran, P., Howlett, O., Lawrence, J., & Kingsley, M. (2021). The effect of behaviour change interventions on changes in physical activity and anthropometrics in ambulatory hospital settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 18(1), 1-19.

Barrett, S., Begg, S., O′ Halloran, P., & Kingsley, M. (2021). The effect of a physical activity coaching intervention on accelerometer-measured sedentary behaviours in insufficiently physically active ambulatory hospital patients. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), 5543.

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Dr Emma Macdonald is a Senior Podiatrist in a regional high-risk foot clinic. Her PhD thesis investigated the adoption of mobile health foot monitoring technology in people with Diabetes Mellitus and was supervised by HRI Director, Prof Michael Kingsley and HRI affiliated researcher, Dr Byron Perrin. On her future ambitions, Dr Macdonald said that she aims to build research capacity and culture amongst allied health professionals working in regional Victoria and continue to collaborate on regional and national research projects aimed at improving clinical care and outcomes for people at risk of lower extremity amputations. Read some of Dr Macdonalds published research investigating foot health monitoring technology here and here.

Dr Samantha May is a Sport and Exercise Medicine Registrar currently treating patients at the Alphington Sports Medicine Clinic and Bounce Health in Blackburn. Dr May is also the Club Doctor for the Melbourne Vixens netball team. Her PhD thesis investigated the ultrasound measurement of gastrocnemius muscle architecture in athletes with Dr May planning to upskill in musculoskeletal ultrasound and interventional techniques in the near future. Currently completing her specialty sports medicine training with the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians, Dr May says she is passionate about promoting exercise as prevention and treatment for patients with chronic illness. Read some of Dr May’s research in gastrocnemius muscle architecture here and here.

Congratulations Emma and Samantha. We wish you luck and look forward to following your careers as they progress and collaborating with you on future research projects.

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The HRI would like to officially welcome Mr Michael Matyevich to the graduate research team. Michael has accepted an offer to complete a PhD with the HRI at La Trobe University. Michael will be investigating the influence of caseload midwifery on physiological responsiveness to stress in mothers and midwives. He will be supervised by HRI Director of Research Professor Michael Kingsley, A/Prof Brad Wright and A/Prof  Matthew Hale.

Following on from a Bachelor of Psychological Science at La Trobe University, Michael completed his Honours research in 2021 with a focus on cognitive and oculomotor performance in response to chronic workplace stress. Having worked as a behaviour support practitioner in a disability support organisation before completing his studies, Michael is driven by making meaningful changes in the lives of vulnerable people.

Michael has hit the ground running with his PhD studies by working with his supervisory team to develop the narrative for his research. We wish Michael the best of luck with his studies and look forward to bringing you updates on his research progress.

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Our HRI Research Seminar Series has returned for 2022!

Representing the Human Performance stream, A/Prof Monica Maly joined us (virtually!) all the way from Canada. A/Prof Maly is the Director of the Mobilize Clinical Biomechanics Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. Her seminar presented on the role of exercising biomechanics to improve care in knee osteoarthritis.

A/Prof Maly has very kindly given permission for the HRI to share her presentation slides below. If you missed out on the presentation, watch it in full on the HRI Youtube channel.

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Brett Gordon researches how to prescribe safe, effective exercise for people with underlying health conditions, like diabetes and pre-diabetes, obesity and cardiac conditions. He wants to develop ways to help people manage their conditions through exercise, safely and effectively.

This is a research story all about movement, both metaphorically and literally. For a start, Brett moved a lot when he was young. His father was a bank manager in rural towns, and moved every few years. Brett reckons he had lived in ten small towns before he was eighteen.

On the move again

Brett’s research journey really started at the Austin Hospital building exercise prescriptions for people with cardiac disease. Cardiac disease is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in the world today yet only 20-30% of people who have a cardiac event attend rehab sessions. At the time, the beneficial effects of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation were developing but the implementation was not consistent. He decided to research how to improve it, so people can get maximum benefit from their exercise, and reduce their risk of having another cardio-vascular event.

He went on to study how people with chronic fatigue syndrome and diabetes can best manage their condition with exercise, and found that resistance training was a safe method that actually reduced their fatigue and improved wellbeing.

La Trobe Bendigo teaching & research success

Meanwhile, Brett was ‘on the move’ in other ways. He was keen to return to the regions so took the opportunity to work with La Trobe Bendigo. Brett is proud of his department’s teaching success and how it interacts with La Trobe Rural Health School research.

Demographics show that people who live in regions are at higher risk of developing heart diseases and diabetes. It is vital to provide expert evidence-based exercise prescriptions for people living with chronic conditions in the regions. This will reduce heavier health problems like the cardiac consequences of diabetes.

With Bendigo’s exercise physiology teaching program, Brett feels La Trobe is building an expert workforce to help take the department’s research into the community and improve the health and well-being of regional people.

“Every year we have 20 to 30 students graduate as exercise physiologists from Bendigo campus and 80% of them work in the regions. That’s a huge contribution, every year, to regional health and well-being.”

Holsworth Research initiative aims

Brett is using the Holsworth Research Initiative funding to further his mission:

“We know exercise is a great help in managing cardiac and metabolic conditions but it is so hard to keep going. We want to make sure  that we can prescribe exercise so that people can exercise in safe and effective ways.”

We look forward to bringing you more updates on Brett’s research. Stay tuned to this space.

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A Participant’s View

We were delighted when one of our participants posted about her experience of our study in her own cycling blog. Tiff is an academic and endurance bike rider, so she writes with a deep knowledge of both sides of data collection – and she’s frank, fearless and funny! With Tiff’s blessing we are re-publishing a short excerpt from her post which vividly captures her experience. For the full flavour, I urge you to read the full post.

As Tiff says:

The chance to get data, actual solid factual data, on my fitness, my heart, and my body composition seemed like a fantastic opportunity. Academic research to support or discount my own biases in terms of my training? Yes please! …

A little while later and it was time to drive up to Bendigo for my first set of tests…

Needless to say any mention of doing a ‘test’ kicks in the anxiety…. For anyone who’s tried to get their blood pressure taken and resting heart rate measured while having an anxiety flare, you’ll feel my pain. For those that haven’t, it’s like doing a sprint and then having someone ask you to calm down. Eventually I managed to focus long enough that I would will my heart to slow down, and we got a heart rate and blood pressure reading that wasn’t ridiculous….

It didn’t help that I couldn’t get the first face mask on and was literally gagging trying to breathe. Putting a tube in my mouth and a nose plug over my nostrils to cut off the air resulted in a near panic attack, and I’m sure there were little tears running down my face as I tried to be brave. But I just couldn’t do it. Luckily they had a back-up option of a face mask set up, and with a bit of finagling we got it sorted.

Simultaneously I was also doing a lactate test, which involved being pricked in the finger to draw blood to measure the lactate accumulation in my blood as I ramped up the test. Living my best life right here folks.

For anyone that’s ever done a functional threshold power (FTP) test at home…, it’s the same thing, except you’re concurrently trying to breath into a plastic face mask and not vomit or pass out while having someone stab you in the finger trying to draw blood. At the same time they were calling out all the numbers (8 minutes in! Power 180, VO2 at 28.7, heart rate 141) which of course made me even MORE aware of what I was doing. Daniel was casually chatting with Matt (who was taking my bloods and is a triathlete) about numbers, and Matt mentioned his VO₂ max was 49 point something.

Me: Must… get…. to 49…. (stupid competitive genes).

I had no idea what 49 meant by the way. But it seemed a long ways away, given I was only at 28.7 at that time.

Needless to say I eventually completed the test. It’s a fun one, everything seems pretty okay until it is SO NOT OKAY and then it’s a battle between everything screaming at you to stop before you puke and yet desperately trying to keep going because 49.

And then it’s over… Sweet sweet relief. A 5-10 minute cool down at low watts and I was fine again.

Want to learn more?

Read all about it  in Tiffany’s own words: Will lab rat for data

Although testing is currently on hold owing to the COVID-19 lockdown we are still recruiting volunteers – if you ride for an hour or more a week and are interested in riding in Tiffany’s wake, please get in touch.

A media update

We received some wonderful publicity from this blog post. Daniel had interviews with ABC and Channel Nine Regional, as well as local Bendigo radio, Phoenix FM. As a result we received over 300 inquiries from potential participants – all thanks to Tiffany’s inspiring prose! Below are the links to the interviews, if you would like to learn more about the study.

• Nine News Central Victoria
• ABC News online
• Phoenix FM Bendigo

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