Histochemical changes in muscle of individuals with spinal cord injury following functional electrical stimulated exercise training

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.