Physical training of children with juvenile chronic arthritis. Effects on force, endurance and EMG response to localized muscle fatigue.

We examined force, endurance and the electromyographic response to muscle fatigue in ten children with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) and ten age-matched healthy controls before and after physical training. Our main finding was a reduced electromyographic response to localized muscle fatigue in the patient group. After training there was a tendency towards a normalized response pattern. A possible explanation may be selective type-II muscle fiber atrophy, and recovery of these fibers after training.