Exercise despite dialysis: Innovative project for young people started!

Exercise despite dialysis: Innovative project for young people started!

Exercise is essential for the motor development of children and adolescents, but this becomes a challenge, especially in young patients with chronic kidney disease. Many of these children and adolescents regularly spend up to seven hours a week on dialysis, resulting in limited movement and a reduced quality of life. A pilot project of the German Sports University Cologne deals with exactly this problem and examines the integration of exercise into dialysis treatment.

As part of this project, which runs over eight weeks, special equipment such as the ICAROS Seated Trainer is used. This trainer enables affected children to become playfully active during dialysis. The concept of exergaming, which combines exercise with video games, is specifically used to offer young patients an opportunity for physical activity. Studies to date show that patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease have significantly lower cardiovascular fitness and poorer health-related quality of life than their peers without the disease. In addition, regular sports activities are often not possible during dialysis due to exhaustion and lack of time. This leads to the need to find new ways to promote physical activity.

The pilot project and its goals

The pilot project aims to investigate the feasibility, acceptability and safety of the exercises as well as the possible positive effects on motor skills and health-related quality of life. It is particularly important that intradialytic training is integrated into the routine of dialysis treatment. Experts also say that such training is feasible and can have positive effects on patients. Nevertheless, it is not yet common practice in dialysis, which could be attributed to unclear training modalities and inadequate staff.

The first results of the project, which will be reported in the press, are expected in autumn 2025. In addition to this pilot project, another interspecific Program conducted to examine the effects of bicycle ergometer training on dialysis efficiency and physical performance in children and adolescents on hemodialysis. This clinical trial examines how regular exercise can improve dialysis efficiency, with increases in urea clearance of 15-25% demonstrated in previous work.

Conclusion and outlook

Overall, it shows that exercise during dialysis is not only possible, but also urgently necessary to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents with chronic kidney disease. The goal of health services research is to establish clear treatments in which both medical and sporting care go hand in hand. The advances in the rehabilitation of dialysis patients could make a decisive contribution to improving the quality of life of those affected and offer promising approaches for further research.

For more information about the challenges and opportunities of promoting physical activity among children and young people, visit the website Federal Ministry of Health.