Reducing fatigue following acquired brain injury: A feasibility study of high intensity interval training for young adults

ABSTRACT

The aim was to evaluate feasibility of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in fatigued adults (20–40 years old) with acquired brain injury (ABI). A prospective pre-post single-arm intervention trial was conducted, including 6–8 months follow-up assessment and interview. Intervention was 18 sessions of intermittent exercise on a cycle ergometer over six weeks. Six out of ten participants without motor impairments completed the intervention (all females, mean age = 30.2 years, months post-injury = 22). On average, participants attended 88% of sessions and achieved high intensity (93% of max heart rate). VO_2max improved by 0.53 l/min (SD = 0.29), and participants continued exercising post-intervention. All participants were satisfied with HIIT, were more inclined to exercise, and reported positive effects of exercising for self-management of fatigue. Three sessions a week were demanding to some participants. Findings support feasibility of HIIT as a promising intervention for young adults with post-ABI fatigue.

KEYWORDS:

• Acquired brain injury
• fatigue
• HIIT
• exercise
• young adults

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the physiotherapists working in the municipalities Halsnæs, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Hillerød, and Frederikssund for carrying out the intervention for some of the participants. Furthermore, the authors would like to acknowledge the support of Karin Spangsberg Kristensen as well for providing supervision during the intervention. Lastly, the authors would like to acknowledge the help of Dr. Anita Sohn, representing the INS ILC Research and Editing Consulting Program. Dr. Anita Sohn provided valuable feedback on language and grammar.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author Contributions Statement

MB, AN, HF, and ST contributed to conception and design of the study; MB and AN organized the database; FD, MB, and AN performed the qualitative and statistical analyses; FD, MB, and AN wrote the first draft of the manuscript; MB, AN, FD, HF, and ST wrote sections of the manuscript. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Danish Ministry of Health.