The benefits and enjoyment of a swimming intervention for youth with cerebral palsy: An RCT Study

Marlies Declerck, Martine Verheul, Daniel Daly, Ross Sanders

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Purpose
To investigate enjoyment and specific benefits of a swimming intervention for youth with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods
Fourteen youth with CP (aged 7 to 17 years, GMFCS I to III) were randomly assigned to control and swimming intervention groups. Walking ability, swimming skills, fatigue and pain were assessed at baseline, after a 10-week swimming intervention (2/week, 40-50 minutes) or control period, after a 5-week follow-up and, for the intervention group, after a 20-week follow-up period. The level of enjoyment of each swim-session was assessed.

Results
Levels of enjoyment were high. Walking and swimming skills improved significantly more in the swimming than control group (p = .043; p = .002), whilst fatigue and pain did not increase. After 20 weeks gains in walking and swimming skills were retained (p = .017; p = .016).

Conclusion
We recommend a swimming program for youth with CP to complement a physical therapy program.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)162–169
JournalPediatric Physical Therapy
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2016

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