Improving the Lives of Children with Cerebral Palsy

With exercise, children improved in basic motor functioning, cognitive functioning, and autonomy.

Cerebral palsy is associated not only with limitations in activities of daily living, but also with subnormal aerobic and anaerobic capacity. In this Dutch randomized clinical trial, 65 children (age range, 7–18 years) with spastic (mild-to-moderate) cerebral palsy received either normal rehabilitative care alone or normal care plus two 45-minute sessions per week of aerobic and anaerobic training and muscle-strengthening activities for 8 months.

Compared with the control group, children in the intervention group significantly improved aerobic capacity (by 38%), anaerobic capacity (by 25%), and lower-extremity muscle strength (left and right sides by 20% and 23%, respectively). Asked to rate their children on an eight-measure, health-related…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)