Affiliations: [a] Laboratoire de Recherche EA: 3300 APS et Conduites
Motrices: Adaptations et Réadaptations, Faculté des Sciences du Sport,
Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France | [b] Cardiovascular Prevention Center (ÉPIC), Montreal
Heart Institute, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec,
Canada | [c] Montreal Heart Institute, Research Center,
Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada | [d] Institut d'Education Motrice, Amiens, France
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Mathieu Gayda (PhD), Cardiovascular
Prevention Center (ÉPIC), Montreal Heart Institute, Université de
Montréal, 5055 St Zotique Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H1T 1N6, Canada.
Tel.: +1 514 374 1480 ext: 268; Fax: +1 514 374 2416; E-mail:
mathieu.gayda@icm-mhi.org
Abstract: The aims of this study were to: 1) study the cardiopulmonary
responses during exhaustive isometric contraction in cerebral palsy (CP)
children vs. apparently normal (AN) children 2) to study the relationship
between muscle endurance and maximal O_{2} uptake (peak
VO_{2}) in CP children. Eight CP children (GMFC 1 to 2) and
8 AN children underwent a graded cycle exercise test and a quadriceps force and
endurance assessment with cardiopulmonary measurement on an isokinetic
dynamometer. During isometric contraction, muscle endurance did not differ
between the groups but a higher O_{2} uptake was shown in
the CP group. Moreover in this group, peak VO_{2} was
correlated with muscle strength (R = 0.77,
P < 0.05) and endurance (R = 0.68, P
< 0.05). Cerebral palsy children have a higher
O_{2} uptake during isometric endurance testing despite a
lower absolute isometric force but their quadriceps endurance is not impaired
after normalization with muscle mass and time. Additionally, quadriceps
strength and endurance in CP children were in relationship with their peak
VO_{2}. This higher O_{2} uptake is
probably due to coactivation and/or cocontraction during exhaustive quadriceps
isometric contraction.
