The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of different foot types (normal, flat and high arch) with regards to speed, roll-over and impact forces, thus attempting to indicate if a specific foot type is dominant amongst sprinters. The different foot types of ten junior sprint athletes and ten nonsprinters were determined by walking over a pressure platform (RSscan Internationalâs Footscan® 7.x plate system). The effects of foot roll-over and peak pressures during sprinting were determined for left and right feet respectively. The subjects ran barefoot at their top speed (sprinted) over 20 meters, crossing a pressure platform (RSscan Internationalâs Footscan® 7.x plate system) comprising the last two meters of the 20 meter distance. The initial contact, final contact, time to peak pressure and the duration of contact of the different sub-areas of the foot were measured. The results of the sprintersâ trials were averaged and compared to the non-sprintersâ averaged trials by performing a statistical T-test. The control group (non-sprinters) dominantly has a high arch foot type for both feet. In the sprinter group, the different foot types are all represented almost equally with regards to right feet, whereas the left feet are dominantly normal type, followed by high arch and then flat foot types. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) during the Foot flat phase (FFP) between the sprinter group (mean left: 4.04ms, mean right: 4.34ms) and control group (mean left: 26.40ms, mean right: 24.46ms), left: p=0.007; right: p=0.022. This indicates that the FFP time is significantly faster for the sprinter group than for the control group. The control group spent a higher percentage of time on the rear foot than the sprinters did (left: p=0.0057, right: p=0.0268). The control groupâs peak plantar pressures were predominantly on the sub-areas of the heel (mean:HL=Left: 327.69, right: 351.44; mean HM= Left: 434.08, right: 423.19) and M1, M2, M3, whereas the sprintersâ peak plantar pressures are predominantly on the subareas of the M1, M2, M3, mid-foot and T1, meaning that sprinters predominantly have peak pressures on forefoot contact whereas the nonsprinters predominantly have peak pressures on heel contact. The results of this study therefore indicate that in general, sprinters dominantly have a normal foot type whereas the non-sprinters have a high arch foot type, and sprinters predominantly have peak pressures on forefoot contact whereas the non-sprinters predominantly have peak pressures on heel contact during sprints.

This study compared the eflicacy of 4 ditlerent hamstring-stretching techniques. Flexibility can be achieved by a variety of stretching techniques, yet little research has been performed on the most effective method. The four most basic stretches includes: Static stretching where the limb is held stationary at and endpoint for a certain time period; Dynamic stretching, an active stretch where the limb is slowly moved from the neutral position to the endpoint; PNF hold-relax- and PNF contract-relax stretching which is also referred to as active stretches because of the concentric and isometric contractions throughout the stretch (Prentice) 2010: Ill). This studyâs aim was to determine which type of stretching technique IS most effective in improving hamstring length. One hundred female subjects between the ages of 13 and 17 years were enrolled in the study. The 90°/90° hamstring length measure was used for all measurements to measure knee extension angle. Alii 00 subjects were included in a randomized controlled trial of 5 different groups comparing different hamstring-stretching techniques. Outcorne measure (hamstring length) was recorded on all subjects initially, at 3 weeks and at 6 weeks. After 3 weeks of stretching, there was a statistically significant improvement in hamstring length (p<O.OOOl) using all stretches when compared to the control group. From weeks 3 through 6, hamstring length for all groups again showed statistically significant improvement when cOlnpared to the control group. No significant ditlerence was found comparing the intervention groups after 3 'weeks or after 6 weeks of stretching. After both 3 weeks and 6 weeks of stretching the straight-leg-raise (static stretching) group had the greatest improvelnent 111 hamstring length, although the difference was not statistically significant.

The mission of the University of the Free State (UFS, 2010) is the pursuit of scholarship as embodied in the creation, integration, application and transmission of knowledge. This pursuit is acknowledged by promoting, among other things, community service and the development of the total student as part of the Universityâs academic culture. One of the reasons for having students participate in community service-learning (CSL) modules is that these modules address two components of the Universityâs mission: community service and the development of the total student. This links with the required transformation stipulated in the White Paper on the Transformation of Higher Education of 1997 (SA, 1997: 7â8). Many claims have been made as to the benefits students derive from participation in CSL modules (Astin & Sax, 1998; Bringle & Hatcher, 1996; Furco, 2002). These benefits can be divided into personal, interpersonal, academic and social benefits. Personal benefits include self-efficacy, self-knowledge, personal development (Simons & Cleary, 2006) as well as improved leadership skills, relationship skills and the definition of personal strengths and weaknesses (Mouton & Wildschut, 2005). Interpersonal benefits include interpersonal development, problem-solving skills (Simons & Cleary, 2006), working more effectively with others (Furco, 2002), awareness of cultural differences and awareness of cultural stereotypes (Mouton & Wildschut, 2005). Academic benefits include academic development, a better appreciation of academic work (Furco, 2002), the application of theory that improves skills such as critical observation, analysis and application (Winfield, 2005), as well as an increased understanding of the theoretical aspects (Erasmus & Jaftha, 2005). Social benefits include involvement in the community (Furco, 2002) and an increased awareness of community life and challenges (Erasmus & Jaftha, 2005). The literature highlights the diverse benefits of participating in CSL modules. However, the question arises whether the benefits derived are related to the competencies required by a person entering the recreation industry. The purpose of the study was to determine which competencies, if any, as seen from the studentsâ perspective, increased by participating in the CSL module offered by the Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences at the University of the Free State. The research was undertaken from a phenomenological viewpoint. Through a literature and job analysis study the competencies required in the recreation industry were identified. It was then determined what competencies students thought they would be able to gain by doing the module. Then the competencies that students perceived to have gained during the CSL module were obtained through student reflections. This data was then compared to the literature and job analysis information to determine how the perceived competencies gained by students through the CSL module relate to the competencies needed by a recreation specialist. Multimethod strategies of data collection were used. A literature study and a web search were undertaken to determine the required competencies. The nominal group technique (NGT) was used to determine studentsâ perceptions of competencies required. Structured and unstructured reflection and the NGT of interviewing were employed to determine the perceived gain of competencies. With regard to the competencies identified (through literature, job descriptions and student perceptions) that would be required in the recreation industry, results showed that students did indeed feel that their competencies increased. Four main themes were identified: communication, management skills, group dynamics and cultural diversity and self-evaluation. The findings indicate that CSL should be considered by lecturers in recreation as a pedagogical tool to impart competencies that are difficult, if not impossible, to teach to students in the normal classroom setup. When selecting CSL as an educational mode during the planning and conceptualisation of the module, it should be ensured that the module is designed in such a way that it imparts specific competencies that are required in the recreation industry.

Netball is a sport that places high physical demands on players. Quick acceleration, changing of direction, high jumps to receive a ball or to intercept an opponentâs pass is some of the tasks that players are required to perform. These requirements leave the players vulnerable to injury. From international studies it is clear that netball players have an increased risk to sustain injuries to the lower limbs. The ankle is the joint most likely to be effected. Injuries to the ankle can account for more than 80% of all netball injuries. The ligaments are the most commonly injured structures. Due to a lack of literature on injuries in South-African netball players, injury patterns in South-Africa cannot be compared to international trends. Epidemiological studies provide the proof on which risks for specific sporting codes are assessed as well as the success of therapeutic intervention programs. The aim of the study was therefore to assess the incidence and severity of injuries in a cohort of elite South-African netball players. The subjects were all the players (n = 1280) that participated in three elite netball tournaments during the 2009 season. The medical staff of each team completed a questionnaire for each player that sustained an injury during the three tournaments. The completed questionnaires were collected at the adjournment of each days play. For those players whose teams did not have their own medical officer, completed questionnaires were collected from the First Aid station where the players received medical attention. Most injuries occurred to the ankle joint (36%) followed by the knee (18%) and injuries to the fingers, hand and wrist (15%). There was a high total injury rate of 500.7 injuries per 1000 playing hours, but the severity of injuries were low, with the majority of the participants being able to continue play or being available for the next match. In order to reduce the amount of injuries to the lower extremities it is recommended that netball players follow a structured program aimed to enhance proprioception and optimize biomechanical execution of functional movement patterns. These exercises should not only be done as part of the pre-season program but continued throughout the remainder of the season.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of training and substrate manipulation upon the physiological and metabolic response to graded exercise for both trained and non-trained subjects. A major interest of this work was the concept of an "anaerobic" threshold for exercise of increasing intensity, and the relevance of the anaerobic threshold to endurance performance. Procedures were designed and validated to measure the physiological responses to maximal and submaximal work in an attempt to link physiological measures of performance to running performance for middle distance events. The potential of these measures to detect changes in running performance was investigated using cross-sectional studies of trained athletes and longitudinal studies of the effects of training. Biochemical analyses required the development of high performance liquid chromatographic procedures for the assay of hormones in blood and urine", and gas liquid chromatographic procedures for the assay of plasma fats. Performance times for middle distance running events were found to be highly correlated to selected physiological measures. The sensitivity of these measures were such that they were capable of detecting small differences in running performance between athletes of similar ability. In this respect?, the anaerobic threshold was found to be the most sensitive measure of performance. Changes in the anaerobic threshold were observed for both training and substrate manipulation. The corresponding changes in the metabolic responses to graded exercise suggest that the change in the anaerobic threshold is closely linked to overall metabolic adaptation to training. The data support the role of the anaerobic threshold as a sensitive indicator of the metabolic and cardiovascular adaptation to exercise and training.

No description available.

Exercise is emerging as a promising low-cost intervention to mitigate age-related memory decline and promote successful aging. Aerobic exercise training enhances cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and improves integrity of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) memory system. The hippocampus, a brain region located within the MTL, is critically involved in episodic and spatial memory formation, including spatial navigation, and demonstrates subfield-specific plasticity in response to aerobic exercise among both animals and young adult humans. Yet it remains unclear whether hippocampal subfield-specific exercise training and CRF effects also extend to older adults. Another modulator of structural and functional integrity of the MTL is chronic stress. Importantly, chronic stress was shown to predominantly impact brain regions such as the hippocampus and associated cognitive functions, including episodic memory, that are highly vulnerable to the effects of chronic stress and decline with age. Allostatic load (AL), or the integrative biological dysregulation of multiple biological systems resulting from chronic stress, is associated with poorer cognition, and reduced structural brain integrity. Black Americans were shown to have high burden of AL compared to non-Hispanic White Americans, and this was associated with reports of greater perceived discrimination, a salient psychosocial stressor, among the former group. Although race is a sociocultural construct, Black-White disparities exist in cognitive task performance, and risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia, with Black Americans displaying significantly worse cognitive task performance scores, and a greater likelihood to be diagnosed with AD and dementia compared to non-Hispanic White Americans. Thus, greater AL and discriminatory experiences in Black compared to non-Hispanic White older adults may underlie the racial disparity in neurocognitive aging. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the opposing impact of chronic stress and exercise on neurocognitive aging. This was accomplished by 1) investigating aerobic exercise intervention effects on hippocampal subfield volume and fMRI activity during spatial navigation, a complex cognitive function that declines with age and that is, in part, supported by the MTL (Project 1), 2) examining the effect of AL as a cumulative, physiological stress measure on neurocognitive aging (Project 2), and 3) examining the effect of chronic psychosocial stress through the lens of social discrimination on the functional connectivity of the MTL subsystem of the default mode network, a resting state network that has been linked to episodic memory (Project 3). The secondary aim of this dissertation was to look at the effect of AL (Project 2) and social discrimination (Project 3) on racial neurocognitive disparities in cognitively intact older Black and non-Hispanic White adults. In the first project, data from two randomized controlled clinical trials of aerobic exercise intervention targeting healthy, initially sedentary adults aged 55-85 years were used to examine the effect of exercise training and exercise-related CRF on the hippocampal integrity on the subfield level. Both randomized controlled trials randomly assigned participants to either: aerobic exercise group or active control group and underwent baseline and end-of-study fitness testing, cognitive testing, and high resolution structural and functional MRI. The first objective of this project aimed to test whether aerobic exercise training increases CRF level, which, in turn, increases anterior hippocampal subfield volume and/or attenuates volumetric decline among older adults undergoing aerobic exercise training compared to those in the active control group. Partially supporting our prediction, results displayed that following the period of the 12-week exercise intervention, the active control group but not the aerobic exercise group showed a right dentate gyrus (DG) head volumetric decline that was trending toward statistical significance. Additionally, a positive significant association between changes in CRF and left subiculum (SUB) head volume following the exercise intervention among women was found. The second objective sought to examine whether aerobic exercise intervention modulates the activation in the hippocampus in a subfield-specific manner during virtual reality navigation task performance, particularly modulating activation in the SUB subfield. Consistent with our structural results an increase in CRF was associated with a decrease fMRI activity in the left SUB. Whole-brain analysis during virtual reality navigation task performance showed that an increase in CRF was associated with a decrease in fMRI activity in the cuneus and right middle frontal gyrus, both brain regions that repeatedly display activation during virtual navigation. In the second project, existing data from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) was used. Cognitively intact men and women, who identified as either Black or African American from the first multiracial Omni group 1 cohort (OMNI1), or White non-Hispanic from the second-generation cohort (Gen2), and were native English speakers, were included in the study. AL was calculated using the values for 10 biomarkers available in the FHS database for the two cohorts studied that are biomarkers for immune, metabolic, and cardiovascular system function. The objective of this project sought to test the prediction that AL correlates with cognitive function and brain structures, particularly hippocampal volume. We additionally sought to examine the secondary prediction that AL mediates the relationship between race and cognitive task performance and structural brain integrity, in age- sex- and education matched racial groups of cognitively intact older adults after controlling for quality of education, cardiovascular-related comorbidities and depression in the FHS cohorts. Results demonstrated that there was no significant correlation between AL and cognitive and brain volumetric measures, however there were significant Black-White disparities in cognitive task performance in verbal and visual learning and memory, abstract reasoning and attention span. These Black-White cognitive task performance disparities existed even after controlling for quality of education, and cardiovascular-related comorbidities. Although there was no significant racial disparity in the mean score of AL index, our physiological stress measure, AL partially explained the observed Black-White disparity in cognitive task performance in verbal learning and memory. Importantly the observed AL effect was not driven by the cardio-metabolic component biomarkers that are part of the AL index, known to overlap with cardiovascular risk factors, but rather, the AL index drove this effect as a whole. There were no racial disparities in brain volumetric measures after controlling for cardiovascular-related comorbidities. Furthermore, there were no sex differences in the effect of AL in any of our neurocognitive outcome measures. In the third project, cognitively intact older Black and White adults (aged 55-80 years) were recruited from the greater Boston area. To measure perceived social discrimination, participants were asked to complete the Experiences of Discrimination questionnaires. Additionally, participants underwent fMRI scanning to examine the functional connectivity of resting-state brain networks. This project sought to test the prediction that greater perceived everyday discrimination would be associated with alteration of resting state functional connectivity, particularly in the MTL subsystem. Results showed that greater perceived everyday discrimination predicted stronger resting-state connectivity between the MTL subsystem, and a cluster located in the right control network, suggesting that perceived discrimination, a psychosocial stressor, may cause functional alteration in brain networks supporting memory and cognitive control in older adults. In conclusion, findings of these studies suggest a neuroprotective effect of exercise, where exercise may attenuate aging-related decline in the structure and function of hippocampal subfields, especially among women, and possibly by targeting the SUB. Furthermore, findings of these studies suggest stress related mechanisms underlying neurocognitive integrity, particularly in the MTL memory system.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-04-20Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:08:43Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 contarteze_rvl_me_rcla.pdf: 244333 bytes, checksum: bb439309fd00a352f846a3b4aad3fa24 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Muitos estudos enfocando metabolismo e exercício são desenvolvidos em modelos animais, especialmente os ratos. Entre os exercícios mais utilizados nas pesquisas com animais estão a esteira rolante e a natação. Contudo, ainda persistem dúvidas de qual seria o exercício mais apropriado para desencadear mais respostas ao exercício e menos respostas associadas a outros estresses. A atividade do eixo hipotálamo-hipófise-adrenal constituído pelos hormônios ACTH e corticosterona são importantes biomarcadores de estresse. Portanto, o objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar biomarcadores do estresse durante exercício de intensidade conhecida em ratos exercitados por natação e por corrida em esteira rolante. Foram utilizados ratos Wistar adultos, adaptados aos exercícios, que tiveram a máxima fase estável de lactato (MFEL) determinada. Para isso, foram submetidos a 3 testes de 25 minutos de exercícios de natação (n=18) suportando cargas de 5,0 ; 5,5 e 6,0% do peso corporal (PC) ou 3 corridas com 25 minutos de duração (n=13) às velocidades de 15; 20 e 25 m/min. Houve coleta sangüínea da extremidade da cauda dos ratos a cada 5 minutos de exercício para dosagem de lactato. Após obtenção da MFEL, os animais foram divididos em subgrupos: (M) sacrificados imediatamente após sessão de 25 minutos de exercício (natação=09 ou esteira=07) na intensidade da MFEL ou (S) sacrificado após exercício exaustivo (natação=09 ou esteira=06) em intensidade 25% superior a MFEL. Para comparações, um grupo controle C (n=10) foi sacrificado em repouso. Utilizou-se Anova Two Way para identificar possíveis diferenças nos parâmetros de estresse (p<0,05). Foram obtidos os seguintes resultados MFEL: natação 5,5% do PC e corrida 20m/min às concentrações de lactato sanguíneo (mmol/L) de 5,2l0,3 na natação e 3,8l0,1 na corrida... / Many studies on metabolism and exercise are developed with animal models especially rats. Treadmill running and swimming are among the exercises most used in researches involving animals. However, doubts on which would be the most suitable exercise to unchain more responses to exercise and less responses associated to other stresses still remain. The activity of the hypothalamic-pytuitary-adrenal axis composed of ACTH and corticosterone hormones are important stress biomarkers. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to compare stress biomarkers during known-intensity swimming and treadmill running exercises performed by rats. Wistar adult rats previously adapted to exercises and with their maximum lactate steady state (MLSS) determined were used. To do this, rats were submitted to 3 swimming tests with 25 minutes of duration (n=18) with loads of 5.0; 5.5 and 6.0% of their body weight (BW) or to 3 running sessions with 25 minutes of duration (n=13) at velocities of 15; 20 and 25 m/min. Blood samples were collected from the tip tail of rats each 5 minutes of exercise for lactate dosage. After MLSS attainment, the animals were divided into the following subgroups: (M) sacrificed shortly after session of 25 minutes of exercise (swimming=09 or treadmill=07) at the MLSS intensity or (S) sacrificed after exhaustive exercise (swimming=09 or treadmill=06) at intensity 25% above MLSS. For comparison purposes, a control group C (n=10) was sacrificed in rest. The Two-Way ANOVA was used in order to identify possible differences in the stress parameters (P<0.05). The following results were obtained: MLSS: swimming 5.5% of the BW and treadmill running at 20 m/min at blood lactate concentrations (mmol/L) of 5.2l0.3 in swimming and of 3.8l0.1in running. Serum ACTH concentrations (pg/mL) were significantly higher for the swimming group (963.3l420.4)... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below)

Orientador: Maria Alice Rostom de Mello / Banca: José Roberto Moreira de Azevedo / Banca: Eliane Stevanato / Resumo: Muitos estudos enfocando metabolismo e exercício são desenvolvidos em modelos animais, especialmente os ratos. Entre os exercícios mais utilizados nas pesquisas com animais estão a esteira rolante e a natação. Contudo, ainda persistem dúvidas de qual seria o exercício mais apropriado para desencadear mais respostas ao exercício e menos respostas associadas a outros estresses. A atividade do eixo hipotálamo-hipófise-adrenal constituído pelos hormônios ACTH e corticosterona são importantes biomarcadores de estresse. Portanto, o objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar biomarcadores do estresse durante exercício de intensidade conhecida em ratos exercitados por natação e por corrida em esteira rolante. Foram utilizados ratos Wistar adultos, adaptados aos exercícios, que tiveram a máxima fase estável de lactato (MFEL) determinada. Para isso, foram submetidos a 3 testes de 25 minutos de exercícios de natação (n=18) suportando cargas de 5,0 ; 5,5 e 6,0% do peso corporal (PC) ou 3 corridas com 25 minutos de duração (n=13) às velocidades de 15; 20 e 25 m/min. Houve coleta sangüínea da extremidade da cauda dos ratos a cada 5 minutos de exercício para dosagem de lactato. Após obtenção da MFEL, os animais foram divididos em subgrupos: (M) sacrificados imediatamente após sessão de 25 minutos de exercício (natação=09 ou esteira=07) na intensidade da MFEL ou (S) sacrificado após exercício exaustivo (natação=09 ou esteira=06) em intensidade 25% superior a MFEL. Para comparações, um grupo controle C (n=10) foi sacrificado em repouso. Utilizou-se Anova Two Way para identificar possíveis diferenças nos parâmetros de estresse (p<0,05). Foram obtidos os seguintes resultados MFEL: natação 5,5% do PC e corrida 20m/min às concentrações de lactato sanguíneo (mmol/L) de 5,2l0,3 na natação e 3,8l0,1 na corrida... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Many studies on metabolism and exercise are developed with animal models especially rats. Treadmill running and swimming are among the exercises most used in researches involving animals. However, doubts on which would be the most suitable exercise to unchain more responses to exercise and less responses associated to other stresses still remain. The activity of the hypothalamic-pytuitary-adrenal axis composed of ACTH and corticosterone hormones are important stress biomarkers. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to compare stress biomarkers during known-intensity swimming and treadmill running exercises performed by rats. Wistar adult rats previously adapted to exercises and with their maximum lactate steady state (MLSS) determined were used. To do this, rats were submitted to 3 swimming tests with 25 minutes of duration (n=18) with loads of 5.0; 5.5 and 6.0% of their body weight (BW) or to 3 running sessions with 25 minutes of duration (n=13) at velocities of 15; 20 and 25 m/min. Blood samples were collected from the tip tail of rats each 5 minutes of exercise for lactate dosage. After MLSS attainment, the animals were divided into the following subgroups: (M) sacrificed shortly after session of 25 minutes of exercise (swimming=09 or treadmill=07) at the MLSS intensity or (S) sacrificed after exhaustive exercise (swimming=09 or treadmill=06) at intensity 25% above MLSS. For comparison purposes, a control group C (n=10) was sacrificed in rest. The Two-Way ANOVA was used in order to identify possible differences in the stress parameters (P<0.05). The following results were obtained: MLSS: swimming 5.5% of the BW and treadmill running at 20 m/min at blood lactate concentrations (mmol/L) of 5.2l0.3 in swimming and of 3.8l0.1in running. Serum ACTH concentrations (pg/mL) were significantly higher for the swimming group (963.3l420.4)... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below) / Mestre

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2 DM) is present in the populations of almost all the countries in the world and is a significant disease burden in most developed countries. Evidence suggests that populations in Africa develop Type 2 DM at an increasing rate as they reject their traditional lifestyles. Furthermore, newly released figures by the Medical Research Council of South Africa indicate that diabetes is the 10th most common cause for total life years lost in females in South Africa. Exercise is a low cost, non-pharmacological intervention that has been shown to be effective in metabolic control. Exercise is still vastly under-utilised in the management of Type 2 DM, especially in urban black females with Type 2 DM. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of an exercise intervention to decrease haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) over period of 12 weeks in Type 2 DM black female subjects, aged 40to 65 years. This study consisted of three phases. Data captured in the first two phases were utilised to plan the exercise intervention. Questionnaires and focus groups were used in the first two phases of the stud. The final phase of the study consisted of a randomized controlled trial. For this phase 157 female subjects who were recruited at the Mamelodi hospital diabetes outpatient clinic, were randomized to either an experimental or a control group. It was found that the subjects had little knowledge about their disease and that they lead a sedentary lifestyle. Subjects felt that Type 2 DM had a negative impact on their lives. Their attitudes bout Type 2 DM showed a dependence on health professionals and they disagreed with the attitude that they should be involved in decision-making about their health care. The results of the focus groups indicated that patients viewed walking and household chores as suitable exercise for them. Personal barriers to exercise were lack of knowledge, tiredness and health-related stress. Subjects expected that exercise would increase the functional capabilities, increase their knowledge and improve their well being. These findings were used to plan the exercise intervention, which consisted of a home-based exercise programme and fortnightly exercise sessions at the Mamelodi hospital. Subjects also had to complete a diary of their physical activities at home. An analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) was used to compare the experimental and control groups with respect to change in HbA1c and the secondary outcomes such as walking distance and quality of life outcomes. It was found that the exercise intervention was no more efficacious (p=0.05) than a supervised self-relaxation training intervention to decrease HbA1c, over a period of 12 weeks. The exercise group was however able to walk a significantly further distance (p<0.01) than the control group after the 12-week intervention. While not significantly different between groups (p=0.80), the positive well-being improved significantly within both groups (p<0.01). It is possible to improve blood glucose control by means other than medication in urban black female patients with Type 2 DM. The patients are willing to change their sedentary lifestyle to a more active one, but several environmental and personal barriers impact negatively o their attempts to do so. The role of the health care worker is to identify these barriers and to accompany the patient on the road to a healthier lifestyle. However, this population of women may need more assistance and support initially to take self-responsibility for their diabetes self-management eventually. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Physiotherapy / unrestricted