In this commentary, we discuss the physiological effects of wearing masks for prolonged periods of time, including special considerations, such as mask wearing among those who engage in exercise training, and concerns for individuals with pre-existing chronic diseases. In healthy populations, wearing a mask does not appear to cause any harmful physiological alterations, and the potentially life-saving benefits of wearing face masks seem to outweigh the documented discomforts (e.g. headaches). However, there continues to be controversy over mask wearing in the United States, even though wearing a mask appears to have only minor physiological drawbacks. While there are minimal physiological impacts on wearing a mask, theoretical evidence suggests that there may be consequential psychological impacts of mask wearing on the basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. These psychological impacts may contribute to the controversy associated with wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. After we discuss the physiological impacts of mask wearing, we will discuss psychological effects associated with wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Physical activity (PA) is associated with a diverse range of health benefits. International guidelines suggest that children should be participating in a minimum of 60 min of moderate to vigorous intensity PA per day to achieve these benefits. However, current guidelines are intended for healthy children, and thus may not be applicable to children with a chronic disease. Specifically, the dose of PA and disease specific exercise considerations are not included in these guidelines, leaving such children with few, if any, evidence-based informed suggestions pertaining to PA. Thus, the purpose of this narrative review was to consider current literature in the area of exercise as medicine and provide practical applications for exercise in five prevalent pediatric chronic diseases: respiratory, congenital heart, metabolic, systemic inflammatory/autoimmune, and cancer. For each disease, we present the pathophysiology of exercise intolerance, summarize the pediatric exercise intervention research, and provide PA suggestions. Overall, exercise intolerance is prevalent in pediatric chronic disease. PA is important and safe for most children with a chronic disease, however exercise prescription should involve the entire health care team to create an individualized program. Future research, including a systematic review to create evidence-based guidelines, is needed to better understand the safety and efficacy of exercise among children with chronic disease.

Massage therapy is a common postexercise muscle recovery modality; however, its mechanisms of efficacy are uncertain. We evaluated the effects of massage on systemic inflammatory responses to exercise and postexercise muscle performance and soreness. In this crossover study, nine healthy male athletes completed a high-intensity intermittent sprint protocol, followed by massage therapy or control condition. Inflammatory markers were assessed pre-exercise; postexercise; and at 1, 2, and 24 h postexercise. Muscle performance was measured by squat and drop jump, and muscle soreness on a Likert scale. Significant time effects were observed for monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), drop jump performance, squat jump performance, and soreness. No significant effects for condition were observed. However, compared with control, inflammatory marker concentrations (IL-8, TNFα, and MCP-1) returned to baseline levels earlier following the massage therapy condition (p < 0.05 for all). IL-6 returned to baseline levels earlier following the control versus massage therapy condition (p < 0.05). No differences were observed for performance or soreness variables. MCP-1 area under the curve (AUC) was negatively associated with squat and drop jump performance, while IL-10 AUC was positively associated with drop jump performance (p < 0.05 for all). In conclusion, massage therapy promotes resolution of systemic inflammatory signaling following exercise but does not appear to improve performance or soreness measurements.

Wearable technologies, i.e., activity trackers and fitness watches, are extremely popular and have been increasingly integrated into medical research and clinical practice. To assist in optimizing health, wellness, or medical care, these devices require collaboration between researchers, healthcare providers, and wearable technology companies in order to clarify their clinical capabilities and educate consumers on the utilities and limitations of the wide-ranging wearable devices. Interestingly, activity trackers and fitness watches often track both health/wellness and medical information within the same device. In this commentary, we will focus our discussions regarding wearable technology on (1) defining and explaining the technical differences between tracking health, wellness, and medical information; (2) providing examples of health and wellness compared to medical tracking; (3) describing the potential medical benefits of wearable technology and its applications in clinical populations; and (4) elucidating the potential risks of wearable technology. We conclude that while wearable devices are powerful and informative tools, further research is needed to improve its clinical applications.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is often accompanied by complications including poor physical activity level. However, only a few studies have objectively characterized physical activity levels in predialysis CKD. Our study sought to measure daily activity levels by accelerometry in individuals with CKD (stages III-V) and to determine the association between daily activity and kidney function. We determined kidney function by means of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the Modification of Diet and Renal Disease (MDRD) equation. Participants wore an accelerometer for 7 consecutive days, and we measured multiple physical activity outcomes including total daily activity, sedentary, light, and moderate-vigorous activity. Average durations and intensity of activity were determined according to stage of CKD. The association between kidney function and activity level was determined by regression analysis. We analyzed data from 110 individuals (60% men and 40% women) with stages III to V CKD. The mean age of our participants was 64 years, mean body mass index was 27.5 kg/m², and mean eGFR was 23.7 ± 1.2 ml/min/1.73 m². Our participants were primarily sedentary (mean duration of inactivity = 1152 ± 100 minutes per day; 79% of day). Light activity was performed 280 ± 99 minutes per day, and individuals participated in only 6 ± 9 minutes per day of moderate-vigorous activity. The eGFR did not predict physical activity level (P > 0.05 for all). Individuals with stages III to V CKD are sedentary, and do not meet the national recommendations of 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous activity per week. Further study is required to determine whether interventions to increase activity levels in patients with CKD are associated with improved health outcomes.