4.4 Article

Long-term intensive electrically stimulated cycling by spinal cord-injured people: Effect on muscle properties and their relation to power output

Journal

MUSCLE & NERVE
Volume 38, Issue 4, Pages 1304-1311

Publisher

WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1002/mus.21060

Keywords

FES cycling; maximal torque; power output; skeletal muscle; spinal cord injury

Funding

  1. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK
  2. INSPIRE
  3. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [GR/R93520/01] Funding Source: researchfish

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Inactivity and muscular adaptations following spinal cord injury (SCI) result in secondary complications such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and pressure sores. Functional electrically stimulated (FES) cycling can potentially reduce these complications, but previous studies have provided inconsistent results. We studied the effect of intensive long-term FES cycle training on muscle properties in 11 SCI subjects (mean +/- SEW 41.8 +/- 2.3 years) who had trained for up to 1 hour/day, 5 days/week, for 1 year. Comparative measurements were made in 10 able-bodied (AB) subjects. Quadriceps maximal electrically stimulated torque increased fivefold (n = 5), but remained lower than in AB individuals. Relative force response at 1 Hz decreased, relaxation rate remained unchanged, and fatigue resistance improved significantly. Power output (PO) improved to a lesser extent than quadriceps torque and not to a greater extent than has been reported previously. We need to understand the factors that limit PO in order to maximize the benefits of FES cycling.

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