Maximal aerobic and anaerobic exercise responses in children with cerebral palsy.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to compare the maximal aerobic and anaerobic exercise responses of children with cerebral palsy (CP) by level of motor impairment and in comparison with those of typically developing children (TD).

Methods: Seventy children with CP, with varying levels of motor impairment (Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) I-III), and 31 TD performed an incremental continuous maximal aerobic exercise test and a 20-s anaerobic Wingate test on a cycle ergometer. Peak oxygen uptake (V˙O2peak), anaerobic threshold (AT), peak ventilation (V˙Epeak), peak oxygen pulse (peak O2 pulse), peak ventilatory equivalent of oxygen (peak V˙E/V˙O2) and carbon dioxide (peak V˙E/V˙CO2), peak aerobic power output (POpeak), and mean anaerobic power (P20mean) were measured.