A donation of SEK 10 million from the Promobilia Foundation is to provide crucial funding for a project designed to help children, adolescents and adults with motor impairments identify more as physically active and included in sport. The project is led by Ferdinand von Walden, researcher at the Department of Women's and Children's Health, and Jessica Norrbom, researcher at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet.
"The aim is for children, adolescents and adults with motor difficulties to identify moreas physically active individuals and see movement as a natural part of life," says Ferdinand von Walden , resident physician at the Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital and researcher at the Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet . "We're over the moon that the Promobilia Foundation is prepared to invest in the project, which will not only improve the physical health of people living with a functional disability, but also help to create a more inclusive existence for them. We hope that work will have a major impact as it is essentially generalisable, and thanks to its design has the potential to reach children, adolescents and adults with different functional impairments around the country."
Endurance training with Frame Runner
The project has three parts, the first of which involves estimating endurance using a foot-propelled tricycle called a Frame Runner.
In this part of the study, the researchers plan to examine the effect of 12-weeks' endurance training with a Frame Runner on 30 participants with cerebral palsy (CP), measuring physical fitness, respiratory function, heart function, metabolism and mental health using validated methods before and after the training period.
Frame running is otherwise a popular para-sport, and the tricycles are designed for children and adults.
Full speed ahead
The second part of the study is called "Full fart framåt - ökad rörelse hosförskolebarn" (Literally: Full speed ahead - greater mobility among preschool children) and includes a group exercise programme for children between the ages of two and five based on locomotion and walk training, depending on ability.
Here, too, the plan is to use a Frame Runner for the locomotion training, which will be incorporated into play and games with other children.
"We hope that our studies will show, through relatively simple means, a large group of children, adolescents and young adults with motor impairments that they can increase their level of physical activity and participation in clubs and associations," says Jessica Norrbom , researcher at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology , KI. "Our hope is that more people will be able to experience the joy of movement and benefit from the positive systemic effects of physical activity."
The third part of the study will be conducted in association with local sports clubs to introduce children and adolescents to adapted physical activity as part of their daily lives.
Exercise with local sports clubs
For 24 weeks, the participants will train with local sports clubs, after which the researchers will test them to find out how many will continue to train and if the effects are lasting.
"Promoting movement, participation and better health in disabled children and adolescents is fully consistent with the aims of the Promobilia Foundation," says Patrik Malmunger, CEO. "We're delighted to be able to support a project that combines scientific merit with practical application - and that also has the potential to make a difference to the lives of many people."
Cerebral palsy and physical fitness
Cerebral palsy (CP) is caused by damage to the developing brain before the age of two and is the most common cause of motor impairments in children. The incidenceof CP in the West is estimated at two per mille, which means that some 1,200 children have CP in the Stockholm region.
It is a well-known phenomenon that individuals with CP are more sedentary than development-typical individuals, which puts them at greater risk of chronic disease later in life. Physical activity has systemic benefits, and being physically active is an effective means of improving things like metabolic health.
Impaired physical capacity, more commonly known as physical fitness, is a clear marker of morbidity and premature death. There Is currently no way of measuring the fitness of people with CP who are unable to run or cycle. Little is also known about the metabolic effects of regular exercise in individuals with CP.
