Abstract
Study Design: Longitudinal training. Objectives: To determine the effects of functional electrical stimulated (FES) leg cycle ergometer training on muscle histochemical characteristics in individuals with motor-complete spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Methods: Six individuals with motor-complete SCI (age 31-50 years; 3-25 years post-injury) trained using FES leg cycle ergometry for 30 min, 3 days per week for 8 weeks. Biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle were obtained pre- and post-training and analyzed for fibre composition, fibre size and capillarization. Results: The majority of muscle fibres were classified as type 2 pre- and post-training. Average fibre area increased 23% (P < 0.05) and capillary number increased 39% (P < 0.05) with training. As a result of these proportional increases, capillarization expressed relative to fibre area was unchanged with training. Conclusions: FES leg cycle ergometer training results in proportional increases in fibre area and capillary number in individuals with SCI. Sponsorship: Supported by the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 264-268 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Spinal Cord |
Volume | 37 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1999 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank Ian MacLean for laboratory assistance. This study was supported by a grant from the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Research Fund.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology