Media Release
April 2 2012
Exercise physiology program helps children with cancer
An
exercise and physical activity program developed by the University of
South Australia for children with cancer has helped about 30 South
Australian children improve their health and well-being.
The Little Heroes Foundation Child Family Care Project, a collaboration
between the Little
Heroes Foundation and UniSA’s
School of Health Sciences and facilitated by the
Leukaemia Foundation, resulted in physical health, mental health and
quality of life benefits for children aged five to 18, who were
off-treatment and not undergoing chemotherapy while undertaking the
10-week program.
UniSA’s Human Movement Program Director,
Dr Maarten Immink, says each child had an appropriate evidence-based
exercise program tailored to their individual needs by tertiary-trained
clinical exercise physiologists.
“Research has shown that for adults who have gone through cancer and had
treatment, being active has meant their chance of relapse is reduced,”
Dr Immink says.
“The old thinking is that for anyone with cancer or other diseases we
should avoid physical activity. But the evidence now is quite the
opposite. An appropriate level of exercise has benefits for the immune
system, physical health, mental health, and well-being across the board.
“While research into exercise for childhood cancer is currently
under-studied, existing evidence supports the idea that exercise
provides benefits for children with cancer and consistent with this, in
our pilot program, we certainly had encouraging results.”
Dr Immink says the project was unique in that an
Accredited Exercise Physiologist, a recognised allied health
professional specialising in exercise for chronic and complex diseases,
delivered the exercise intervention.
“To this extent, the project was successful in that the professional was
able to take into consideration and accommodate the specific needs of
the individual participant and their condition. The importance of this
is that all children were able to safely participate in physical
activity and also enjoy the progress they made,” he says.
Exercise programs for children aged six to 10 focused on game-based
activities, while the programs for older children were gym-based,
including resistance training and aerobic training.
Human
Movement Lecturer
Dr Carmel Nottle says the primary aim of the program was to instil a
perception of exercise and physical activity-related enjoyment,
self-efficacy and benefits. The secondary aim was to achieve health and
quality of life-related clinical outcomes to meet individual needs.
“Some of the children had delayed development because of their cancer
treatment, while some had the concern of being overweight because they
hadn’t had the chance to be active as kids naturally or take part in
organised sport,” she says.
“For the younger kids, some hadn’t had the chance to properly develop
their motor skills. Others had ongoing issues from cancer and surgery,
so there was a rehabilitation component as well as the education
component on how to be active. What we saw in terms of results was
heartening. All the children who took part had an improvement. Most of
it was fitness-related, but a lot of it was also about their
self-esteem, feeling that they can exercise, thinking about how they can
be involved in sport and feeling like they’re ready to go back to that,
and confidence in themselves.”
Little Heroes Foundation Director Chris McDermott says: “I cannot speak
highly enough of the work UniSA’s School of Health Sciences has done in
helping develop this program as a vital part of our Child Family Care
Services. The benefit to the children that have been through the program
has been truly amazing in a variety of ways and we look forward to even
more positive outcomes in 2012.”
Lina Kontogonis is one parent who saw remarkable results from the
program. Her daughter Sophia is one of the participants for whom the
program had a hugely positive impact. Diagnosed with bone cancer in her
left thigh in 2007, Sophia underwent 10 months of intensive chemotherapy
and numerous operations including removing 10cm of bone from her leg.
She remained in a wheelchair for many months and eventually on crutches
for years.
“The program has assisted Sophia greatly not only physically but also
psychologically,” Lina says.
“The exercises designed especially for her circumstance led to her leg
and bones becoming much stronger so she can now walk very confidently,
without crutches, despite complications with this leg. She now has a
love for long walks and she regularly attends Zumba classes. We have
seen a great improvement in her self-esteem and her overall confidence
and she is now a more outgoing person. She has become involved in many
tasks, sports and social activities which previously she was limited to
or perhaps she was not confident enough to attempt. Her total outlook on
life has improved as a result of this program.”
More information about UniSA’s School of Health Sciences Exercise
Physiology Clinic can be found at
http://www.unisa.edu.au/hls/what_we_do/clinics/exercise.asp
Media contact
- Kelly Stone office (08) 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861 832 email kelly.stone@unisa.edu.au