Children's Hospital Institute of Sports Medicine (CHISM)
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Overview
The Children's Hospital Institute of Sports Medicine's (CHISM) research focuses on the assessment and efficacy of exercise in children with a range of chronic conditions. Collaborative research is undertaken with other departments at the Children's Hospital Westmead, including Rheumatology, Haematology and Endocrinology, as well as with other institutions in Australia.
One area of research involves patients who have musculoskeletal complaints, either acquired through injury, or resulting from chronic conditions particular to children that affect their joints or bones. The other area involves children with serious illnesses who are prescribed exercise, for example to improve survival rates in cystic fibrosis, or to increase fitness in children after long periods of hospitalisation.
Research achievements
Previous reports from Europe and the US reveal that children with haemophilia have lower levels of fitness and strength than their healthy peers. CHISM's haemophilia research has focused on determining fitness and quality of life in Australian boys with haemophilia, where prophylactic clotting factor is readily available. This research has already been completed and accepted for publication.
In addition to this, the research aims to quantify, for the first time, the increase in risk of bleeding associated with exercise in children with haemophilia so that we can enable children and their families to make informed decisions about sports participation.
CHISM has also studied muscle strength after steroid injections in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in the knee and elbow; fitness, motor skills and quality of life in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis; the effect of two different dietary interventions on insulin resistance in adolescents; the effect of whole body vibration training on insulin sensitivity in overweight adolescents, and the effects of short-term high intensity exercise and plasma volume on cardiac performance in high school children.
In association with the Oncology Department's Bone Marrow Transplant, CHISM is currently planning to investigate the benefits of exercise for patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation. This is the first investigation in this population.
