Through the power of sport, researchers from Queensland believe they can improve the way people with cerebral palsy are treated and have their symptoms managed across the country.

A "groundbreaking" study by the University of Queensland uses a performance-based competitive swimming program to help reverse gross motor neuron decline in young people with severe cerebral palsy.

The participants weren't swimmers to start with, but now they're hooked by the sport — and the results have been inspiring.

"We think that there's a real prospect that [with the] findings, that we've got with such strong science behind it, we're in a position to really change practice across Australia," University of Queensland Professor Sean Tweedy said.

Three participants started the initial longitudinal study in 2017 — now there's 27 participants, and no-one has dropped out.

ParaSTART is designed to replicate a professional sporting environment for para-athletes, with the participants required to have up to three swimming sessions per week along with strength and conditioning training. 

They also have access to sleep advice, dieticians, psychologists and a chief medical officer.

"The longitudinal part is really critical because a lot of studies get done over six or 12 weeks, maybe six months at the longest," Professor Tweedy said.

"In sport, you might still just be picking up the technique after six months of learning to swim, you don't really see any bodily changes."

The data was monitored over a four-year period.

"What you would typically see with people with cerebral palsy at the level that our participants were is that their motor function … it declines from when they're about 12 or 13 years age over time," Professor Tweedy said.

"We measured our participants when they were enrolled — if they'd just maintained their gross motor function that would have been a positive outcome, but they'd actually improved gross motor function and they retained those improvements over the four-year period."

From not swimming to targeting competitions

Nate Woolgar had never been a big fan of swimming until he was contacted about being one of the first participants of the ParaSTART research program.

But now he's challenging himself to break personal bests and continue to improve at swimming competitions.

"ParaSTART is a really big portion of my life and I do really enjoy coming here. I don't see myself slowing down anytime soon," he said.

"My goal right now is to swim a 50-metre breaststroke in under a minute and 40 seconds because that was the state time [last year] and I was one second off."

"I've definitely gotten stronger from all the gym and swimming … when I do the tests, there is a substantial improvement that I definitely like to see."

Program has been 'life-changing'

Nate's dad Brent Woolgar said ParaSTART has even greater benefits.

"He loves coming to training, he loves the team. For a young man with disability, that integration with what I would refer to as normal society, the normal things that people do, it's surprisingly hard to achieve.

"The social connections, the independence, getting here on his own, getting all his gear sorted … It's life changing."

"His sleep's better … He's not having the same level [of] seizure activity that he had … so there's no downside."

The goal now is for researchers is to take the program nationwide and then internationally and expand the research.

"Because the results were so positive … it really gives us the impetus to start to branch out and look at people ... with other sorts of diagnosis — like spinal cord injury or acquired brain injury — and to look at other sports, so athletics or cycling, to see if we getting the same sort of responses from different sports," Professor Tweedy said.

An 'extraordinary breakthrough' 

Professor Iona Novak, head of research at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, said the study was an "extraordinary breakthrough".

"This study is groundbreaking and a really important opportunity for people with cerebral palsy," she said.

"The ability to train non-athletes to athletes status speaks to the power of the intervention.

"I think it's really important work by this team and will lead to improvements and hope and possibility for other people."

Professor Novak said people with disabilities in Australia face barriers to full inclusion, especially in sport, but she believes this research program should set a new benchmark for management.

"What I love about this study is it's learning a skill that makes [the participant] more included as an Australian, rather than being in a rehabilitation centre or a hospital training on a treadmill, which you can't be included on with other people.

"This is ... the way all rehabilitation should be conducted."