Cancer Prevention? Yes, Exercise Has an Important Role
The theme for this week …
Recently I shared about the benefits of exercise on cancer survivorship and the benefits of exercise during treatment. This week, the focus is on the role of exercise with cancer prevention.
Exercise can be so important to overall physical and mental health, including the prevention of cancer.
Read on …
Benefits of exercise to prevent cancer
Globally, there is an increase in the research being done to understand the role of physical activity and health, with some studies looking at the impact on specific types of cancer.
The key reasons?
This 2024 Frontiers in Physiology article “Immunomodulatory effects of exercise in cancer prevention and adjuvant therapy” dives into the many studies and findings in a number of categories on the effects of exercise upon cancer.
The interactions of exercise are known to be complex and diverse but seem to center around the body’s inflammatory responses.
Exercise and the immune system
Exercise is known to modulate inflammation, and cancer generally has an association with inflammatory conditions.
Exercise produces repetitive stress to the body which elicits an immune system response which ends up reducing inflammation. This is one of the most agreed upon mechanisms for positively impacting cancer.
The immunosurveillance systems
The body’s own sentry system for immune system threats works better with intense aerobic activities. Examples of this are spinning, rowing, and running.
This intense activity also promotes production of natural killer cells which attack pathogens and keep cancer-related cell division from getting out of line.
Specific exercise recommendations?
The specific types of exercise and amount of time which is most beneficial are still under study.
Newer research proposals have goals of establishing dose-response correlations. This means the researchers are beginning to study the specifics in more detail to determine recommendations for ‘x’ minutes, ‘y’ times per week, to achieve a % reduction in cancer risk.
Stay tuned as we continue to monitor and share emerging insights.
Insight of the Week from Cara
Wouldn’t it be great if cancer prevention were as simple as exercising a few times per week?
So much still to learn
Although exercise has an accepted role in keeping our bodies healthy, the exact mechanisms are still under study. That goes for cancer prevention too.
There are many associations between exercise and cancer prevention which are generally good, but an exact prevention protocol has yet to be determined.
What is known
In the meantime, here is what we do know:
- Cardio training 120 minutes per week is recommended for heart health. This can be in blocks of 20-30 minutes per day.
- Strength training two times per week is recommended for muscle, metabolic, and bone health.
Bottom line, being active as much as you can at an intensity you can handle, is really awesome for your health, independence, and well-being.
How can Bridging® help?
When you want to be more active to optimize your health, but struggle with pain or coordination, look to Bridging®.
We look to your past for micromovement disrupters, and then reset the impacted muscle relationships.
If you are a regular reader, you know the list of disrupters:
- Injuries/accidents
- Medical procedures (surgery, chemo, casts)
- Severe illnesses especially respiratory
- Birth stressors
These events each affect the way your joints flow and transition. Bridging® resets the muscles quickly and gently so you can get back to being active!