Article

OBJECTIVE: To compare peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) between: (i) functional
electrical stimulation lower extremity pulsed isometric muscle contractions
combined with arm cycling (FES iso hybrid), (ii) functional electrical
stimulation cycling combined with arm cycling (FES hybrid cycling), and (iii) arm
cycling exercise (ACE) in individuals with spinal cord injury with level of
injury above and below T6. DESIGN: Cross-over repeated measures design.
METHODS/PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with spinal cord injury (n = 15) with level of
injury between C4 and T12, were divided into groups; above (spinal cord injury -
high, n = 8) and below (spinal cord injury - low, n = 7) T6 level. On separate
days, VO2peak was compared between: (i) ACE, (ii) FES iso hybrid, and (iii) FES
hybrid cycling. RESULTS: In the SCI-high group, FES iso hybrid increased VO2peak
(17.6 (standard deviation (SD) 5.0) to 23.6 (SD 3.6) ml/kg/min; p = 0.001) and
ventilation (50.4 (SD 20.8) to 58.2 (SD 20.7) l/min; p = 0.034) more than ACE.
Furthermore, FES hybrid cycling resulted in a 6.8 ml/kg/min higher VO2peak (p =
0.001) and an 11.0 litres/minute (p = 0.001) higher ventilation. ACE peak
workload was 10.5 W (p = 0.001) higher during FES hybrid cycling compared with
ACE. In the spinal cord injury - low group, no significant differences were found
between the modalities. CONCLUSION: VO2peak increased when ACE was combined with
FES iso hybrid or FES hybrid cycling in persons with spinal cord injury above the
T6 level. Portable FES may serve as a less resource-demanding alternative to
stationary FES cycling, and may have important implications for exercise
prescription for spinal cord injury.

Langue : ANGLAIS