Assisted cycling in non-ambulant adults with cerebral palsy: exploratory effects and feasibility in residential care.
Nanna S Poulsen, Sara Falkenberg, Noémie Receveur and 3 others
PMID 42768904WHAT IT FOUND
Fatigue, sleep and quality of life did not change after assisted cycling in non-ambulant adults with cerebral palsy.
The programme was feasible, and some participants reported less leg pain and constipation.
Key findings
01Assisted cycling was feasible: 12 of 14 participants found it beneficial and 11 wanted to continue, with median attendance 24 of 30 sessions.
02Leg pain and constipation scores were lower from pre- to post-test, but fatigue, sleep quality and quality of life did not show significant differences.
03All participants continued physiotherapy during the study, so the effect of assisted cycling alone cannot be separated.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was small, exploratory and not randomised, so it cannot prove that assisted cycling caused any changes. Outcome assessors were not blinded, and participants were recruited by convenience, which may bias selection and detection. All participants continued physiotherapy, so the contribution of cycling alone cannot be separated from usual therapy. The patient-reported questionnaires were adapted for comprehension but not validated in adults with severe cerebral palsy and intellectual impairments. Several outcomes had too few participants with baseline symptoms or too few completed tests to analyse reliably. The intervention was group-based and individual tolerance varied, so results may not apply to all non-ambulant adults with cerebral palsy.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that assisted cycling improves fatigue, sleep or quality of life. Those outcomes did not show significant differences, and the study was exploratory with concurrent physiotherapy.