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An acoustic myography functional assessment of cerebral palsy subjects compared to healthy controls during physical exercise

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Abstract

Individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) participate in reduced levels of physical activity and spend an increased amount of time in a sedentary state compared with healthy control subjects. Whether this in part can be explained by impaired muscle function is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to elucidate differences in muscle fibre recruitment during treadmill exercise between CP subjects and healthy age-, sex- and BMI-matched controls. This is a case–control study. Acoustic myography (AMG), a method recording fibre use and efficiency from contracting muscles, was applied during a period of treadmill exercise. The recorded AMG parameters revealed that the CP subjects had a significantly lower initial S-score (spatial summation) than the controls (P < 0.01). However, the T-score (temporal summation) and the E-score (efficiency) showed no significant differences between individuals with CP and the healthy control subjects. The present findings indicate that CP subjects use a higher degree of spatial summation (more fibres recruited) to keep up the same speed during treadmill exercise when compared to healthy matched control subjects. Our results suggest that individuals with CP have a tendency to recruit far more muscle fibres during bouts of exercise than healthy individuals. This may partly explain why CP subjects experience premature fatigue.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully thank Bente Matthiesen for all her professionalism both with the practical and the administrative aspects of this clinical setup.

Funding

This project was funded by the Danish research Council (DFF-1333-00197), and the Elsass Foundation.

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Correspondence to Jessica Pingel.

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All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in the present study.

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Clinical relevance: The present results represent an exciting new aspect for clinicians regarding what determines muscle activation during exercise in people with neurological disorders.

What is known about the subject: It is known that patients with neurological disorders fatigue very quickly during exercise, but the mechanisms behind this increased fatigue ability are unclear.

What the study adds to existing knowledge: The present study shows, that a higher number of fibres are recruited in CP muscles for any given muscle contraction. This may partly explain why CP subjects experience premature fatigue.

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Pingel, J., Andersen, I.T., Broholm, R. et al. An acoustic myography functional assessment of cerebral palsy subjects compared to healthy controls during physical exercise. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 40, 53–58 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10974-019-09516-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10974-019-09516-y

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