Paolo Capodaglio – författare

This book has a unique focus on physiotherapy techniques and training methods that are ideally suited for the obese patient. Despite its related comorbidities and disability, not to mention its pandemic proportions, the impact of obesity on individual capacities and rehabilitative outcomes is often neglected by physiotherapists and physical trainers alike. The number of disabled subjects who are also obese is now increasing worldwide, as is the rate of obese patients admitted to post-acute rehabilitation units. The effective rehabilitative treatment of these patients involves special multidisciplinary considerations.

This book fills that gap, by gathering evidence-based chapters addressing not only the physiological limitations of obese subjects but also state-of-the-art, novel and specific treatment and training modalities suited for these patients. Though the content is primarily intended for rehabilitation practitioners (physiotherapists, nutritionists, dieticians, psychologists, PRM specialists), it will also benefit students and researchers engaged in this particular multidisciplinary field. The book’s ultimate goal is to increase professionals’ awareness of this multidisciplinary area, and to provide a pragmatic guidebook for those who want to engage in the rehabilitation of patients who are also obese.

This book entails chapters ranging from cell to clinical studies exploring the state-of-the-art of the molecular and clinical effects of Whole-Body Cryostimulation (WBC). Based on consolidated evidence, WBC is nowadays widely used in elité athletes for recovery from muscle fatigue or injury but, despite growing scientific support, it remains a niche topic in the field of Rehabilitation. At present, WBC is used mostly in eastern Europe as add-on treatment for rheumatological conditions, but recent literature suggests that its positive effects can have a clinically significant impact on a wider range of conditions. The novelty of the book consists of documenting the clinical and functional effects of WBC in a range of conditions including post/long-Covid symptoms, fibromyalgia, rheumatologic, metabolic, psychiatric, sleep and respiratory disorders, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, spasticity.

It addresses clinicians, researchers and postgraduate students, trying to provideevidence-based support for the use of WBC in pain and fatigue reduction, and improvement in functioning, mood, quality of sleep in various clinical conditions. The recently unveiled metabolic effects of the chronic exposure to cryogenic temperatures represent cutting-edge research in the field of obesity and diabetes management.

The book describes the work-in-progress of an international panel of experts and provides the latest indications for a safe use of WBC in the clinical setting in different medical conditions. It is about time to pinpoint to the clinical audience the current achievements on this topic together with the limitations of the existing studies, the lack of standard protocols with regard to individual “doses” of cryogenic exposure in specific health conditions and the safety concerns in order to foster research on the application of clinically useful and safe WBC protocols as add-on treatments able to boost rehabilitation programs.

Obesity is currently regarded as one of the major health challenges of the developed world.  Excess body weight is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, musculoskeletal disorders and even psychiatric problems and is estimated to cause nearly 3 million deaths per year worldwide. Obesity is not necessarily associated with comorbidities: there are indeed metabolically healthy obese individuals.  Thus, we need to consider individuals presenting simple with obesity separately from those at risk of developing or who have already developed complex clinical states potentially leading to disability. Comorbidities can tip the balance of independence in patients who already have functional limitations mainly due to the excess of mass itself or who develop conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, where an abnormal metabolism of adipose tissue prevails. Morbid obesity with comorbidities leading to disability represents a real social and economic burden for National Health Systems worldwide.  The presence of multiple and associated comorbidities often represents an obstacle to being admitted to hospitals for the treatment of metabolic diseases. On the other hand, clinical units with optimal standards for the treatment of pathological conditions in normal-weight patients are often structurally and technologically inadequate for the care of patients with extreme obesity. The aim of this book is to focus on the pathophysiological and rehabilitative aspects of disabling obesity, highlighting multidisciplinary rehabilitation interventions as key to counteracting the disabling aspects of complicated obesity.