Impacto de um programa de exercícios físicos na saúde de pessoas com epilepsia

Abstract

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurological diseases in the world. Approximately 80% of all people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries. The practice of physical activity or exercise has been associated with better health conditions in these people. Thus, the aim of this study was to verify the effects of a structured physical exercise program on health of people with epilepsy. For this, a randomized control trial was conducted and the participants were divided into control group (10 participants maintain usual activities), and exercise group (11participants). Exercise group received a structured, individually supervised, exercise program with two 60-minute sessions per week. Each session included aerobic (15-25 minutes at 14-17 on Borg scale), strength (2-3 sets, 10-15 repetitions), and 5-minutes active stretches. Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical and health information, memory (Digit Span test), executive function (Trail Making test A and B, Stroop test, Verbal Fluency task), global cognitive function parameters (Montreal Cognitive Assessment - MoCA), anthropometric measurements (weight, height, hip and waist circumferences), cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max), and strength (dynamometer) were measured at baseline and post 12-week intervention. In adittion, the focus group was used as a data collection technique for a qualitative study, eight subjects participated. Only one participant did not complete the study. There was a reduction in frequency of epileptic seizures in exercise group (p=0,010) with no difference for the control group (p=0,457). Improvement in quality of life (p=0,004), stress levels (p=0,017), executive function (p=0,021) and cardiorespiratory fitness (p=0,017) was found in the exercise group compared to the control. In addition, the participants in the exercise group reported increase knowledge of the disease, new attitudes related to its treatment and the promotion of a healthy life. The fight against stigmas and the emancipation of restrictions commonly associated with epilepsy also stood out, the way that group identity and professional support in physical education increased the motivation to exercise. Structured physical exercise program was able to reduce frequency of epileptic seizures, and improve the general health of people with epilepsy. Public health actions such as places to exercise, multidisciplinary professional monitoring (physical educator, nutritionist, psychologist, among others) can be carried out to reduce the impact of the disease. Physical exercise is a non-pharmacological and low-cost alternative that can assist in the treatment of people with epilepsy.