title: Cardiorespiratory responses to arm cranking and electrical stimulation leg cycling in people with paraplegia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to assess the cardiorespiratory responses during arm exercise with and without concurrent electrical stimulation-induced leg cycling in people with paraplegia.
  
  
  METHODS
  On separate days, 10 subjects with spinal cord injuries (T5-T12) performed either arm cranking (ACE), or simultaneous arm cranking + electrical stimulation-induced leg cycling (ACE+ES-LCE) graded exercise tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During submaximal, steady-state exercise, ACE+ES-LCE elicited significantly higher VO2, (by 0.25-0.28 L x min(-1)) stroke volume (by 13 mL), and VE(BTPS) (by 9.4 L x min(-1)) compared with ACE alone. In contrast, there were no significant differences of submaximal HR, cardiac output, or power output between the exercise modes. At maximal exercise, ACE+ES-LCE elicited significantly higher VO2 (by 0.23 L x min(-1)) compared with ACE alone, but there were no differences in power output, HR, or VE(BTPS).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrate that during submaximal or maximal exercise there was a greater metabolic stress elicited during ACE+ES-LCE compared with during ACE alone. The higher stroke volume observed during submaximal ACE+ES-LCE, in the absence of any difference in HR, implied a reduced venous pooling and higher cardiac volume loading during ACE+ES-LCE. These results suggest that training incorporating ACE+ES-LCE may be more effective in improving aerobic fitness in people with paraplegia than ACE alone.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raymond
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Climstein
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sutton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm; D002302:Cardiac Output; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013318:Stroke Volume