Debbi Rowley and Lucy Waller are physiotherapists at Sheffield Children’s Foundation Trust and Great Ormond Street Hospital, respectively. Here, they offer advice on things to consider before starting physical activity and tell us about some of the initiatives happening across the UK to help children with cancer move more.
Physical activity is any activity that involves moving your body. It can mean many different things and includes:
- everyday activities e.g., walking to school, climbing the stairs, walking the dog
- physically active play e.g., riding a bike, scooting, playing ’hide-and-seek’, soft play sessions, tummy time for babies
- organised sports and exercise e.g., football, swimming
It’s important to try and do a combination of aerobic activities (ones that make you a little bit out of breath/ sweaty) as well as activities that improve strength and coordination. There is lots of advice available regarding how much physical activity children and young people should do, but the main message is: "be still less and move more".
Is it safe and are there things I shouldn’t do?
It’s always important to check with one of your child’s healthcare team before starting something new as there may be precautions to take – for example, if your child has a central line inserted to deliver chemotherapy and/or they are on chemotherapy treatment which can affect blood counts. It’s important to remember, however, that the research is showing us that it’s safe and beneficial to be active through cancer treatment and once it has finished if you follow the precautions specific to you.
What should I do next?
Think about what your child enjoys doing. It’s important that they do something they like and are therefore more likely to continue with. Try to build it into their daily routine. Start by doing a little bit and then build it up over the coming weeks and months – little and often will allow you to work out how much they can manage to start with. It may be a good idea to set them some goals – but make them personal and, importantly, achievable.
How can I find out more?
Your child’s healthcare team will be able to give you the specific advice you need, but there are also lots of resources available to you online which can give you more ideas, such as:
UK Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines
CCLG’s ’Keeping your child active’ publication
What’s happening to support children and young people with cancer in the UK to become more physically active?
Children’s cancer centres across the UK understand the importance of being physically active for children and young people having cancer treatment. You may have noticed that your child’s healthcare team are talking to you more about being active and how you can do this. Some centres have started offering individualised programmes for children and young people following a cancer diagnosis and some are putting on activity days where you can go and try out new activities.
We’re also working closely with charity organisations to help support children to be physically active, such as Cyclists Fighting Cancer, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and Move Charity. We’re also helping to support health and fitness professionals with training so that they can discuss and support physical activity and exercise specifically for children and young people with cancer.
Across the country, we’re also undertaking research projects to better understand what interventions work best for children and young people with cancer to enable them to be physically active at different stages of their care pathway.
From Contact magazine issue 99 - Summer 2023
