No abstract

The effects of experimentally induced and personally relevant stressors on low back EMG activity during 3 phases of the menstrual cycle in women with the premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual low back pain were examined. Thirty-nine women reporting either PMS and premenstrual severe low back pain (group 1), PMS with premenstrual moderate low back pain (group 2), or those reporting neither condition (group 3) participated. During each of 3 menstrual phase-specific assessment sessions, participants were exposed to a neutral stimulus, an experimentally induced stressor, and 2 personally relevant stressors in a randomized order. Concomitant monitoring of low back EMG activity and heart interbeat interval was undertaken. Results indicated that participants in group 1 evidenced greater EMG changes in response to personal stressors compared to the neutral stimulus and experimentally induced stress during the premenstrual phase. EMG activity in response to personal stress was also significantly higher during the premenstrual phase than during the menstrual and intermenstrual phases for group 1, and higher than EMG changes evidenced by groups 2 and 3 during the same phase. Group 2, while not reporting as severe premenstrual back pain as did group 1, reported moderate levels of back pain and evidenced greater physiological reactivity to a personal stressor than did group 3. The findings highlight the link between personally relevant stressors and concomitant physiologic responsivity and the role that this arousal may play in the maintenance and exacerbation of premenstrual low back pain.

The present study investigated the effects of a short-term exercise program on caloric intake. Thirty-three women were randomly assigned to either a high-intensity exercise group (80% maximum heart rate), low-intensity exercise group (55% maximum heart rate), or waiting list control group. Exercisers were required to ride ergometer bicycles three times per week for 7 weeks, expending 200 kilocalories of energy per exercise session. All participants recorded food intake during specified weeks before, during, and following the exercise program. Results showed no significant caloric intake differences among the three groups, but a trend toward reduction in food intake with increased exercise intensity was found. Interestingly, comparisons between caloric intake on exercise and nonexercise days revealed that both exercise groups consumed significantly less on exercise days. Additionally, the control group evidenced a larger caloric intake level than did the two exercise groups on exercise days. These results suggest that exercisers do not compensate for energy expenditure by increasing caloric intake and that choosing between low- and high-intensity exercise does not differentially alter caloric intake. Nevertheless, maximization of negative energy balance or weight loss may be best achieved by exercise programs of high frequency and intensity.

125 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy were assessed for anticipatory nausea and anticipatory emesis, two side effects of chemotherapy for cancer. 32% and 12% of the patients reported experiencing anticipatory nausea and emesis, respectively. The prevalence and somatic concomitants of the anticipatory symptoms were assessed using the Cancer Chemotherapy Questionnaire and a standardized interview. Analysis of variance indicated that patients evidencing anticipatory nausea, emesis, and a combination of the two symptoms differed significantly from patients without these symptoms on six somatic side effects: vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, shortness of breath, muscle weakness, and fatigue. Results from the standardized interview indicated that patients with nausea or emesis had identified several cognitions and cues (visual, olfactory, but not gustatory) temporally contiguous with the anticipatory response. The possibility that this phenomenon is the result of a cognitive conditioning process was examined and the implications of such a process were discussed.