Learning Objectives

This report will provide insight on the relationship between exercise and children with epilepsy. I will closely examine the benefits that are introduced with exercise, and the risks that are present with lack of exercise among epileptic children. This report will help in understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of exercise and epilepsy.

Summary & Overview

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders among children, affecting more than 1% of the population. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by sudden recurrent episodes of sensory disturbance, loss of consciousness, or convulsions, associated with abnormal electrical activity in the brain. It presents a barrier that deters children in participating in physical activity. The lack of physical activity among epileptic children causes many psychological and physical complications. The information presented in this report gives us a greater understanding of the mechanisms that play among exercise and children with epilepsy. It examines the barriers and benefits of physical activity, and how exercise can be used as an effective medicine.

Commentary

The data I have gathered for this report has significant amount of information about the effects of physical activity among children with epilepsy. I believe that the articles that I have used in this report provided great arguments and supported them with reliable evidence. The articles I have used all have similar perspective and viewpoint in terms of importance of physical activity in epileptic children. All articles emphasized the importance of a proper exercise program and if constructed properly, can be used as a medicine to treat epilepsy. The articles provide the reader with proper background information to help increase understanding of the mechanisms that is present with epilepsy. Although I have found great articles that provide useful information in understanding the correlation between epilepsy and exercise, I do believe that the scientific community is in need of more research in the subject. There were limited amounts of research in terms of physical activity and exercise. The size of research is further minimized once it is focused on children and epilepsy. There is also a lack of experimental research in the subject. Most articles I have found were reviews and overview on the subject. The only experimental article I have found was by Wong & Wirrell, which compared exercise among children with epilepsy and their siblings. Considering epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in children, I believe that we must focus on generating more research to further improve our knowledge on the subject for the future.

Exercise and Seizure

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in children, affecting more than 1% of the population. Physical activity levels among children with epilepsy have been reported to be lower, than those of normal children. Results from a study by Wong & Wirrell (2006) show that children with epilepsy were less likely to exercise compared to their siblings without epilepsy. Higher seizure frequency led to lower total participation. Factors of exercise that may initiate seizures are fatigue, emotional stress, fever, heat, humidity, and sleep deprivation. Stress is one of the many triggers that can initiate a seizure; therefore by performing exhaustive exercises, epileptic children disrupt homeostasis and risk an attack. However, there are only a few extremely rare cases of exercise-induced seizures, at which occurred at extremely intense vigorous physical activity (Howard, Radloff, & Sevier, 2004). The avoidance of physical activity among children with epilepsy is due to the concern of injury during participation. Parents, coaches, and instructors are often scared of the children experiencing a seizure during play, which leads to restriction of participation. Epileptic children were also deterred by some epileptic medicine that minimizes physical abilities and make them appear less physically adept to their peers. There remains a stigma associated with epilepsy that has prevented involvement in sports and recreational activities for years (Howard, Radloff, & Sevier, 2004). The lack of exercise and physical activity among children with epilepsy leads to multiple risk factors, both physically and psychologically. Epileptic children often develop hypertension, high BMI, and diabetes due to low energy expenditure (Arida, Scorza, Gomes da Silva, Schachter, & Cavalheiro, 2010). Children with epilepsy also show lower self-esteem and self-confidence. Children with epilepsy have higher prevalence of depression and anxiety. The lack of participation in group sports activities create an environment of social isolation for teens and children with epilepsy (Wong & Wirrell, 2006). The risks of injury during exercise for epileptic children are minimal compared to the risks that come with being physically inactive.

Participation in physical activity is a great way for epileptic children to maintain and improve physical and psychological health. Physical activity provides children with epilepsy with tremendous amounts of benefits that lead to an improved quality of life. Exercise reduces seizure frequency, severity and improves seizure control for individuals with epilepsy (Eom, Kyung Lee, Park, Jeon, Kang, Lee, & Kim, 2014). Exercise may have an anticonvulsant effect on individuals with epilepsy as it releases B-endorphins, which inhibit epileptic discharges (Arida et al., 2010). Physical capabilities such as increased maximal aerobic capacity, increased work capacity, and reduced heart rate also occur among children with epilepsy with participation in physical activity. Exercise also creates opportunities for children to create social connections and interactions among other

children, creating a sense of belonging (Wong & Wirrell, 2006). Physical activity provides children with an environment that create social support that reduces stress. Reports show that epileptic children who were active showed significantly lower levels of depression, anxiety, as well as better psychosocial adjustment (Arida et al., 2010). Exercise among epileptic children also reduces body fat percentage, which can further encourage physical activity. Exercise also shows positive correlation with increased bone density which is essential as Children with epilepsy often take antiepileptic drugs which leads to bone loss (Eom et al., 2014). Those with epilepsy should not be excluded from participation in sports for fear of causing injury or inducing seizures. Discouraging physical activity, which in turn prevents its many benefits, may cause more harm.