The Effects of Acute Intense Physical Exercise on Postural Stability in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

This study evaluated the effects of intense physical exercise on postural stability of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Center of pressure (CoP) was measured in 9 typically developing (TD) children and 8 with CP before and after a maximal aerobic shuttle-run test (SRT) using a single force plate. Anteroposterior and mediolateral sway velocities, sway area, and sway regularity were calculated from the CoP data and compared between pre- and postexercise levels and between groups. Children with CP demonstrated significantly higher pre-SRT CoP velocities than TD children in the sagittal (18.6 ± 7.6 vs. 6.75 1.78 m/s) and frontal planes (15.4 ± 5.3 vs. 8.04 ± 1.51 m/s). Post-SRT, CoP velocities significantly increased for children with CP in the sagittal plane (27.0 ± 1.2 m/s), with near-significant increases in the frontal plane (25.0 ± 1.5m/s). Similarly, children with CP evidenced larger sway areas than the TD children both pre- and postexercise. The diminished postural stability in children with CP after short but intense physical exercise may have important implications including increased risk of falls and injury.

Acute Physical Exercise Affects Cognitive Functioning in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Little is known about the effects of acute exercise on the cognitive functioning of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Selected cognitive functions were thus measured using a pediatric version of the Stroop test before and after maximal, locomotor based aerobic exercise in 16 independently ambulatory children (8 children with CP), 6-15 years old. Intense exercise had: 1) a significant, large, positive effect on reaction time (RT) for the CP group (preexercise: 892 ± 56.5 ms vs. postexercise: 798 ± 45.6 ms, p < .002, d = 1.87) with a trend for a similar but smaller response for the typically developing (TD) group (preexercise: 855 ± 56.5 ms vs. postexercise: 822 ± 45.6 ms, p < .08, d = 0.59), and 2) a significant, medium, negative effect on the interference effect for the CP group (preexercise: 4.5 ± 2.5%RT vs. postexercise: 13 ± 2.9%RT, p < .04, d = 0.77) with no significant effect for the TD group (preexercise: 7.2 ± 2.5%RT vs. postexercise: 6.9 ± 2.9%RT, p > .4, d = 0.03). Response accuracy was high in both groups pre- and postexercise (>96%). In conclusion, intense exercise impacts cognitive functioning in children with CP, both by increasing processing speed and decreasing executive function.