Related Experiment Videos
Exercise and the child born prematurely
1Children's Hospital, Julius-Maximilians University, Würzburg, Germany. Hebestreit@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
Insights
Children born prematurely can generally participate in sports safely. Early encouragement of diverse physical activities is recommended to support skill development and potentially mitigate effects of premature birth on coordination.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Exercise Science
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Increasing survival rates of premature infants highlight the need to understand their exercise capacity and responses.
- Some extremely low birthweight preterm children may have limitations in exercise capacity due to bronchopulmonary dysplasia or cerebral palsy, affecting neuromotor coordination.
- Even without overt neuromuscular or pulmonary disease, preterm children can exhibit deficiencies in aerobic, anaerobic, strength, and coordination performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current understanding of exercise capacity and responses in children born prematurely.
- To discuss the safety and potential benefits of physical activity and sports participation for this population.
- To identify gaps in research, particularly regarding the efficacy of exercise training.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies examining physical activity, exercise capacity, and health outcomes in preterm children.
- Analysis of factors influencing exercise performance, including neuromotor coordination and pulmonary function.
- Synthesis of current recommendations for physical activity in this population.
Main Results:
- Most children born prematurely can safely engage in physical activities and competitive sports.
- Exercise is generally safe, with the primary precaution being the avoidance of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
- Limited data exists on the efficacy of specific exercise training programs for preterm children.
- Early and varied physical activity is encouraged to foster skill development and compensate for potential coordination deficits.
Conclusions:
- Preterm children can typically participate in physical activities and sports, with appropriate precautions.
- Encouraging a wide range of physical activities from an early age is crucial for development.
- Further research is needed to establish the effectiveness of exercise interventions in this population.
Abstract:
With the increase in survival rates of children born prematurely, issues related to their active pursuits and responses to exercise have been gaining increasing attention. In some preterm children with an extremely low birthweight, bronchopulmonary dysplasia or cerebral palsy exercise capacity may be limited, especially in tasks requiring good neuromotor coordination. Deficiencies in aerobic and anaerobic performance, strength and coordination may even occur in children without overt manifestations of a neuromuscular or pulmonary disease. However, as a rule, children born prematurely may engage in physical activities and competitive sports without limitations. Exercise is safe in almost all such children as long as precautions are taken to avoid exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. However, to date there are no studies that have determined the efficacy of training. A wide variety of activities should be encouraged in all children born prematurely at an early age, to support the development of skills and to compensate for the possible effects of their premature birth on coordination.