Abstract
Study design:
The analysis of oxygen uptake (VO2) and energy consumption in quadriplegics after 6 months of treadmill gait with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES).
Objectives:
To compare metabolic responses in quadriplegics after 6 months of treadmill training, with NMES (30–50% body weight relief), with quadriplegics who did not perform gait.
Setting:
Ambulatory of University Hospital, Brazil.
Methods:
Quadriplegics were separated into gait and control groups (CGs). On inclusion, all subjects performed VO2 test. In the gait group (GG) (n=11), the protocol consisted of 8 min of rest, 10 min of treadmill walking using NMES and 10 min of recovery. In the CG (n=10), testing consisted of 8 min rest, 15 min of quadriceps endurance exercise in sitting position with NMES and 10 min recovery. VO2, carbon dioxide production (VCO2) and energy consumption were measured. The GG performed 6 months of treadmill training, using NMES, for 20 min, twice a week. The CG did not practice any activity with NMES, performing conventional physiotherapy only; the CG was stimulated only during the cardiorespiratory test.
Results:
All parameters increased significantly for the GG: 36% for VO2 (l/min), 43% for VCO2 (l/min) and 32.5% for energy consumption (J/kg/s). For the CG, during knee extension exercise, VO2 increased without changes in the energy consumption (P<0.05); smaller values were obtained for all parameters when compared to those obtained during gait.
Conclusions:
Quadriplegic gait was efficient towards increasing VO2 and energy consumption, which can decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the support by grants from FAPESP (# 2003/05856-9 and #1996/12198-2).
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de Carvalho, D., Cliquet, A. Energy expenditure during rest and treadmill gait training in quadriplegic subjects. Spinal Cord 43, 658–663 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.sc.3101776
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.sc.3101776
