Daily stride rate activity and heart rate response in children with cerebral palsy

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often exhibit altered gait patterns and reduced physical activity.
• Understanding physical activity levels and exercise intensity is crucial for managing CP and promoting overall health.
• Current methods for assessing physical activity in children with CP may not fully capture the nuances of their movement and exertion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare daily stride rate activity, exercise intensity, and heart rate intensity of stride rate in children with CP with typically developing children.
• To investigate differences in physical activity based on Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels in children with CP.

Main Methods:

• Forty-three children with CP (GMFCS I-III) and 27 typically developing children (aged 7-14) participated.
• Participants wore a StepWatch™ activity monitor and a heart rate monitor simultaneously.
• Time spent at different stride rate activity levels and heart rate reserve zones was analyzed.

Main Results:

• Children with CP demonstrated significantly lower daily stride rate activity across all GMFCS levels compared to controls.
• No significant differences were found in time spent across various mean heart rate reserve zones between groups.
• Children with CP classified as GMFCS III exhibited higher mean heart rate reserve at lower stride rates (<30 strides/min).

Conclusions:

• Stride rate activity effectively reflects walking effort in children with CP without walking aids, similar to typically developing children.
• Children with CP using walking aids showed increased walking effort (higher heart rate reserve) at lower stride rates.
• Despite lower stride rates in CP, daily exercise intensity may be comparable, indicating that stride rate and heart rate monitoring capture distinct aspects of physical activity.