Abstract
Study design:
Cross-sectional single-subject design.
Objectives:
To determine whether leg vascular occlusion (LEVO) augment arm cycling (ACE) peak oxygen uptake in spinal cord-injured individuals.
Setting:
University Hospital, Norway.
Methods:
Fifteen individuals with C4 to T12 spinal cord injury (SCI) were recruited and divided into two groups: injury above (SCI-high, n=8) or below (SCI-low, n=7) the T6 level. Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) was measured during (1) ACE combined with LEVO, (2) ACE alone and (3) ACE combined with functional electrical stimulation cycling (FES hybrid cycling).
Results:
In the SCI-high group, VO2peak and peak Watt during ACE with LEVO were higher than ACE alone: 20.0 (±5.0) versus 17.6 (±5.0) ml kg−1 min−1 (P=0.006), and 72.5(±32) versus 80.0 (±34) Watt (P=0.016), respectively. However, FES hybrid cycling VO2peak was significantly higher than ACE with LEVO: 24.4 (±4.1) versus 20.0 (±5.0) ml kg−1 min−1 (P=0.006). In the SCI-low group, there was no difference in VO2peak and related parameters between the three modalities.
Conclusions:
For spinal cord-injured individuals with injury level above T6 (high) in the present study, LEVO combined with ACE augment VO2peak. However, this acute increase in VO2peak was lower than when FES cycling was combined with ACE. These findings may have future implications for exercise prescription for spinal cord-injured individuals.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the participation of the SCI individuals; Professor Jon Magnussen at the Department of Public Health and General Practice, NTNU, for timely and critical reading of the manuscript; and Professor Grethe Albrektsen at the Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Unit for Applied Medical Research, NTNU, for valuable help with the statistical analyses. This work was supported by St Olav’s Hospital–Trondheim University Hospital, Liaison Committee between the Central Norway Regional Health Authority and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and SINTEF Unimed.
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Brurok, B., Tørhaug, T., Leivseth, G. et al. Effect of leg vascular occlusion on arm cycling peak oxygen uptake in spinal cord-injured individuals. Spinal Cord 50, 298–302 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2011.129
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2011.129
