Samenvatting

Introduction: Cystic fibrosis is a life-limiting, inherited multi-organ disorder affecting Caucasians in the world today. The respiratory system is most often involved, which results in a limited life-span and decreased quality of life. Exercise is an important part of the therapy for cystic fibrosis; therefore the aim of this research was to determine the effect of aerobic exercise therapy on pulmonary function in children and adolescents suffering from cystic fibrosis.

Method: An electronic search was performed in Pub Med, The Cochrane Library and Physiotherapy Evidence Database. The databases were consulted using the search terms; cystic fibrosis, aerobic exercise program and pulmonary function with a combination and variation of the search terms. Included in this research were studies with children and adolescents with a confirmed diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, younger than 20 years old; participating in an aerobic exercise program, for a minimum of 12 days. Only studies which reported outcome measures on pulmonary function were included.

Results: The electronic search resulted in 10 studies which met the set inclusion and exclusion criteria. The majority of the included studies reported significant findings in the change of pulmonary function. There is moderate and limited evidence to support that an aerobic exercise program is effective for improvements in pulmonary function. All of the included studies resulted in improvements, and delayed the progression of the disease and its negative effect on the pulmonary function.

Conclusion: An aerobic exercise program should remain an important part of the therapy program for children suffering from cystic fibrosis, because evidence shows that an aerobic exercise program does have a positive effect on pulmonary function for children suffering from cystic fibrosis.