Introduction Stair climbing is the climbing of a flight of stairs. It is often described as a “low-impact” exercise, often for people who have recently started trying to get in shape. A common exhortation in health pop culture is “Take the stairs, not the elevator”. Energy Expenditure In one study (Teh and Aziz, 2002) based… Read More
Introduction Post-exertional malaise (PEM), sometimes referred to as post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE) or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), is a worsening of symptoms that occurs after minimal exertion. It is the hallmark symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and common in long COVID and fibromyalgia. PEM is often severe enough to be disabling, and is… Read More
Introduction Exercise intolerance is a condition of inability or decreased ability to perform physical exercise at the normally expected level or duration for people of that age, size, sex, and muscle mass. It also includes experiences of unusually severe post-exercise pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting or other negative effects. Exercise intolerance is not a disease or… Read More
Introduction Metabolic myopathies are myopathies that result from defects in biochemical metabolism that primarily affect muscle. They are generally genetic defects (inborn errors of metabolism) that interfere with the ability to create energy, causing a low adenosine triphosphate (ATP) reservoir within the muscle cell. At the cellular level, metabolic myopathies lack some kind of enzyme… Read More
Introduction The endurance running hypothesis is a series of conjectures which presume humans evolved anatomical and physiological adaptations to run long distances and, more strongly, that “running is the only known behavior that would account for the different body plans in Homo as opposed to apes or australopithecines”. The hypothesis posits a significant role of… Read More
Introduction In cardiology, ventricular remodelling (or cardiac remodelling) refers to changes in the size, shape, structure, and function of the heart. This can happen as a result of exercise (physiological remodelling) or after injury to the heart muscle (pathological remodelling). The injury is typically due to acute myocardial infarction (usually transmural or ST segment elevation… Read More
Introduction Muscle weakness is a lack of muscle strength (not to be confused with muscle fatigue). Its causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have either true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a variety of skeletal muscle diseases, including muscular dystrophy and inflammatory myopathy. It… Read More
