Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine the cardiorespiratory/vascular effects of cycling with and
without functional electrical stimulation (FES) in children with spinal cord
injury (SCI). DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Pediatric referral
hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Children with SCI (N=30), ages 5 to 13 years, with injury
levels from C4 to T11, and American Spinal Injury Association grades A, B, or C.
INTERVENTIONS: Children were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: FES leg cycling
exercise, passive leg cycling, or noncycling control group receiving electrical
stimulation therapy. After receiving instruction on the use of the equipment,
children exercised for 1 hour 3 times per week for 6 months at home with parental
supervision. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Oxygen uptake (Vo(2)) during an incremental
arm ergometry test, resting heart rate, forced vital capacity, and a fasting
lipid profile. RESULTS: There were no differences (P>.05) between groups after 6
months of exercise when comparing pre- and postvalues. However, there were
differences between groups for some variables when examining percent change. The
FES cycling group showed an improvement (P=.035) in Vo(2) (16.2%+/-25.0%) as
compared with the passive cycling group (-28.7%+/-29.1%). For lipid levels, the
electrical stimulation-only group showed declines (P=.032) in cholesterol levels
(-17.1%+/-8.5%) as compared with the FES cycling group (4.4%+/-20.4%).
CONCLUSIONS: Cycling with FES led to gains in Vo(2), whereas electrical
stimulation alone led to improvements in cholesterol.

Langue : ANGLAIS