Aerobic and Strengthening Exercise for Acute Leukemia

Survivors of childhood leukemia have muscle weakness and impaired mobility (physical performance), a higher than expected frequency of obesity, and early mortality from cardiovascular disease. Treatment related neuropathy, cardiotoxicity and general cachexia may complicate physical performance and establish a pattern of sedentary behavior that may lead to a lifetime of inactivity. There is limited evidence that children being treated for leukemia benefit from home exercise programs during the maintenance phase of therapy, particularly in terms of muscle strength and range of motion. However, there are no established guidelines regarding the prescription of exercise for children diagnosed with leukemia. We propose to test the feasibility of an exercise intervention among children being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and hypothesize that children who participate in the exercise intervention will demonstrate improvements in gross motor function, strength, flexibility, and cardio respiratory fitness, and that they will have more favorable body composition when compared to the children who are assigned to the usual activity group.