Introduction: Up until recently, in cerebral palsy (CP), exercise programs with aerobic or
muscle strengthening components have been discouraged due to the hypothetical risk of
increased muscle tone, decreased range of motion, overall decrease in function. In 2002 a
systematic review of Dodd KJ, showed benefits in this population. One of the goals of the ICF-IA is to promote participation in physical and aerobic conditioning programs in the community of children with disabilities.
Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a physical training program in children with hemiplegic
spastic CP and long-term exercise maintenance. 
Methods: We design a prospective non randomized clinical trial and recruited patients ages 12-14 years with spastic hemiplegic CP GMFCS I between September 1, 2015 - August 31, in our tertiary level hospital. Our 8 week exercise program included 2 weekly 60-minute sessions. The components were 5 minutes (’) of respiratory muscle strengthening exercises, 20’ of stretching and muscular strengthening in closed kinetic chain using Kabat technique, and 30’ alternating between Bike and treadmill, with a Wii-Fit game and 5’ of final stretching of lower limbs muscles. Variables collected included maximum static expiratory (PEmax) and inspiratory (PImax), lower limb range of motion, Timed Get-up and go test and 6 minutes walk test, at baseline, post-program and at 1 year.
Results: Total of 8 children (mean age, 13 1+/-SD), 2 were boys. We obtained a significant
improvement (p&lt;0.05) in all variables studied, as well as a high degree of satisfaction of the participants. At one year post program, all adolescents continued to be engaged in moderate-intensity physical activity.
Conclusions: An 8-week exercise training program significantly improves range of motion, muscle strength, functional capacity and respiratory muscle function in adolescents with cerebral palsy. It also facilitates participation of the child in sport and game activities in their community environment.

EFFECTS OF AN EXERCISE TRAINING PROGRAM IN SPASTIC HEMIPLEGIC CEREBRAL PALSY