The Utrecht approach to exercise in chronic childhood conditions: the decade in review

Abstract

Purpose: To summarize and discuss current evidence and understanding of clinical pediatric exercise physiology focusing on the work the research group at Utrecht and others have performed in the last decade in a variety of chronic childhood conditions as a continuation of the legacy of Dr Bar-Or.

Key points: The report discusses current research findings on the cardiopulmonary exercise performance of children (and adolescents) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, osteogenesis imperfecta, achondroplasia, hemophilia, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, cystic fibrosis, and childhood cancer. Exercise recommendations and contraindications are provided for each condition. Implications for clinical practice and future research in this area are discussed for each of the chronic conditions presented.

Clinical implications: The authors provide a basic framework for developing an individual and/or disease-specific training program, introduce the physical activity pyramid, and recommend a core set of clinical measures to be used in clinical research.