Increased physical fitness after 4-week training on a new hybrid FES-cycle in persons with spinal cord injury

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of a 4-week training program on a newly developed hybrid functional electrical stimulation (FES)-cycle on physical fitness in spinal cord-injured (SCI) individuals. Ten SCI individuals (age 23–53 years, lesion level range T3–T11) participated and trained 8–12 times in 4 weeks on the hybrid FES-cycle (voluntary arm-contractions and stimulation of leg muscles). Leg volume was measured. During a graded hybrid exercise test, peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), peak power output (POpeak) and power of the legs (dP) wer measured pre and post training. Upper leg volume increased significantly (8.5% (p = 0.047) and 8.3% (p = 0.018) for the right and left leg, respectively). POpeak and VO2peak increased 11.7% (p = 0.012) and 9.3% (p = 0.015), respectively. There was no significant difference in dP between pre and post training. After only 4 weeks of training, considerable training effects were observed, which are comparable to longer training studies in literature. The results of this study indicate that hybrid training on the new hybrid FES-cycle is an appropriate training method for individuals with a spinal cord injury to increase physical fitness.