Muscle response to exercise in cerebral palsy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Determination of spastic muscle fibre behaviour during exercise in cerebral palsy
IRAS ID
212159
Contact name
Amir A Mohagheghi
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Brunel University London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
Muscle fibre length in cerebral palsy (CP) is shorter than normal. This shortness contributes to the muscle stiffness and impairment of function in CP. Attempts to induce durable increase in muscle fibre length in CP have been generally unsuccessful. In contrast, it is possible to increase the length of healthy muscle fibres using different trainings protocols, but the underlying mechanism(s) and optimal training parameters are not well understood.
Examination of studies which succeeded in increasing fibre length, shows commonalities between the training protocols, and behaviour of muscle and fibre during exercise. Specifically, a form of eccentric training (when a muscle is stretched during exercise) was used in these studies, which resulted in 1) high velocity elongation of muscle fibres, 2) deactivation of the muscle at the most stretched position, and 3) microscopic damages to the muscle fibres. Therefore, not only the training parameters but also muscle and fibre responses to the exercise may determine the outcome. It is not clear whether and how such conditions can be satisfied when training spastic muscles.
We are going to take a systematic approach to identify training parameters (i.e. type and velocity of exercise) which could satisfy the assumed pre-requisites 1-3 above for increasing fibre length in CP. These parameters can be used in future training protocols to determine their effectiveness for increasing fibre length.
Individuals with spastic CP will participate in this study. Quadriceps (a knee extensor muscle) will be stretched at different velocities during passive and eccentric exercises, and its behaviour will be simultaneously examined using biomechanical and ultrasonography techniques. Potential subcellular muscle damage will be assessed using blood markers. The study is funded by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) Charity (from where CP participants will be recruited), and Brunel University London.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/1788
Date of REC Opinion
20 Dec 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion