INTRODUCTION: The cardiorespiratory training has revealed positive effects on the population with cerebral palsy, improving functional capacity, reducing the energy cost and cardiovascular risks. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aerobic training on blood pressure, ran/walked distance and maximal oxygen consumption. METHODS: The sample was composed by eight children and adolescents with hemiparetic and diparetic spastic cerebral palsy (G1) and eight children in control group (G2), matched on gender and age. They were assessed through the Cooper test, measuring initial and final blood pressure, ran/walked distance and VO2 max. G1 participated in a program with stretching and treadmill training during 24 sessions. RESULTS: There was significant improvement for G1 after training on ran/walked distance, VO2 max and initial systolic arterial pressure (SAP). When comparing the two groups, a statistically significant difference was observed on the ran/walked distance and VO2 max before and after training, systolic arterial pressure (SAP) before and after training. After the detraining period, there was no significant decay on the improvement of G1 variables, except for VO2 max. CONCLUSION: The aerobic training may bring cardiorespiratory benefits to the population with hemiparetic and diparetic spastic cerebral palsy; therefore, it can be included in a rehabilitation program.
Cerebral palsy; Hemiparetic; Diparetic; Cardiorespiratory training
