# Power Training Combined with Interval Treadmill Training to Improve Walking Activity in Cerebral Palsy

> **NIH NIH R01** · LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER · 2022 · $470,557

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) experience a progressive decline in ambulatory ability, beginning in
adolescence and into early adulthood. We propose that impaired muscle power generation is the key limiting
factor affecting walking activity and the ability to physically participate in day to day life. To optimize ambulatory
function, it is also essential to practice the task of walking, known as task-specific training, in order to learn how
to generate muscle power during walking. However, treadmill training for children with CP should be modeled
on the activity pattern of typically developing (TD) youth, which consists of intervals of high intensity activity.
Therefore, the objective of this proposal is to determine the effect of lower extremity Power Training combined
with Interval Treadmill Training (PT3) on functional walking capacity and community-based activity and
participation in children with CP. To identify key muscular mechanisms with this type of training, we will
examine quadriceps muscle performance and architecture. We hypothesize that remediating the most
pronounced muscle performance impairment (i.e., muscle power) with power training combined with a task-
specific approach to walking that is developmentally appropriate will have a significant effect on walking
capacity and performance. This hypothesis will be tested by the following specific aims. Aim #1: determine the
immediate and retention effects of power training combined with interval treadmill training (PT3) on functional
walking capacity in ambulatory children with CP. Forty-eight ambulatory participants with CP (10 to 17yrs) will
be randomized to receive either PT3 or an equivalent dosage of traditional approaches (strength training
combined with traditional treadmill training) for 24 sessions, 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Walking outcomes
will be collected at baseline, immediately post-treatment, and at 2 and 6 months post. Aim #2: quantify the
effects of treatment on in vivo muscle architecture and muscle performance measured with ultrasound imaging
and dynamometry. We hypothesize that muscle power generation is impaired and is responsible for limitations
in walking activity, and that PT3 will result in significant improvements in muscle power that will be explained
partly by increases in cross-sectional area and fascicle length. Aim #3: using coordinate data from global
position system (GPS) combined with accelerometry, we will directly measure the effects of treatment on
community-based walking activity and participation captured in real-world settings. This project is innovative
because it represents a paradigm-shift in current clinical rehabilitation practice in that PT3 targets muscle power
deficits specifically to drive changes in clinic and community-based walking activity that will be measured with
novel technology during day to day life. The proposed research is significant because it will be the first step in
a line of researc...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10444907
- **Project number:** 5R01HD091089-05
- **Recipient organization:** LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Noelle G Moreau
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $470,557
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-05 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10444907

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10444907, Power Training Combined with Interval Treadmill Training to Improve Walking Activity in Cerebral Palsy (5R01HD091089-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10444907. Licensed CC0.

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