Outcomes of an exercise program for pain and fatigue management in adults with cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this exploratory pilot study was to examine the effect of exercise on pain and fatigue in adults with CP.

METHOD: Twenty-six participants (12 ambulatory, 14 non-ambulatory; 10 males, 16 females; mean age 42.3 ± 11.2 years) enrolled in a study using a repeated measures design including baseline, intervention and follow-up phases of 12 weeks each; 20 participants completed all phases. Primary outcome measures used were the FACES pain scale, the count of body parts with pain and the PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale.

RESULTS

Significant beneficial changes were found in the pain and fatigue scales among the ambulatory participants during the intervention phase. However the beneficial changes diminished during the follow-up phase. Secondary outcomes examined included, pain interference, daily physical activity and health-related quality of life.

CONCLUSION

Study outcomes suggest that exercise may provide some benefit for ambulatory adults with CP. Implications for Rehabilitation Pain and fatigue are secondary conditions experienced by many adults with cerebral palsy which have a significant impact on function and quality of life. Physical activity is an intervention which has been demonstrated to decrease both pain and fatigue in other health conditions. In a relatively small sample, this study demonstrates decreased pain and fatigue after an exercise intervention in ambulatory adults with cerebral palsy.