Research of training method using repeated rolling movement for Boccia players with severe cerebral palsy

Abstract

Boccia is a targeted sport that has been devised in Europe for people with severe cerebral palsy (CP) or similar severe limbs dysfunction. In the target sport, it is important that the parasympathetic nerve becomes dominant during the competition, and it is said that the parasympathetic nerve activity tends to become dominant by training to raise the heart rate. The training protocol incorporates a rolling movement, which is an Activities of Daily Living (ADL) that can be performed even with severe CP. The purpose of this study is to verify whether interval rolling movement (IR), which repeats rolling movement at the maximum speed, is effective as training for increasing heart rate associated with effort exercise for people with severe CP. One workout consisted of 1minute rolling movement and 30seconds of rest, and three times of this workout were as 1set of IR. Subjects performed 3sets of IR with a 5minutes rest and performed this training for 6months. Six severe CP boccia players were divided into two groups, 1/week group and 1/month group, depending on the frequency of intervention. As a result, the post-exercise heart rate and the number of turns per minute increased significantly in the weekly group, and no significant change was observed in the monthly group. For severe CP boccia players, it was suggested that conducting IR at least once a week is an effective method of training aimed at increasing heart rate associated with effort exercise.

Training effect of repeated rolling motions on boccia players with severe cerebral palsy: comparison with the effect of conventional upper-limb training using a crossover test

“…Nitta et al 9 ) found that the rolling motion in CP engages the trunk muscles, and also involves reaching by the upper limbs for weight transfer or extension of the shoulder joints and flexion or extension of the lower limbs for pelvic rotation. Therefore, IR uses the muscles of the upper extremities, the muscles of the lower extremities, and the muscles of the core, and is performed repeatedly in a high-intensity interval training method, so it is a full-body exercise and also has elements of fitness training 7 ) . Furthermore, repeating alternating left and right rotations of the boccia player with sever CP might have caused continuous internal rotation of the body axis, which led to repeated dynamic stretching of the shoulder joints and hip joints, thus, leading to an increase in the ROM.…”

“…To date, interval rolling (IR) training interventions have been implemented in boccia players with severe CP. These interventions include repeating rolling motions using an IR method to reduce the increased heart rate 7 ) and physical activity caused by effortful exercise. We confirmed the effects on ROM and throwing distance in a previous work 8 ) .…”

“…These interventions include repeating rolling motions using an IR method to reduce the increased heart rate 7 ) and physical activity caused by effortful exercise. We confirmed the effects on ROM and throwing distance in a previous work 8 ) . However, in the training of boccia players to date, despite the lack of evidence, there have been cases where TheraBand (TheraBand, Inc., Akron, OH, USA), among others, has been used to mainly train the upper limbs required for throwing.…”