title: Effect of load during electrical stimulation training in spinal cord injury.
abstract: Electrical stimulation training is known to alter skeletal muscle characteristics after a spinal cord injury, but the effect of load on optimizing the training protocol has not been fully investigated. This study investigated two electrical-stimulation training regimes with different loads on intramuscular parameters of the paralyzed lower limbs. Six paraplegic individuals with a spinal cord injury underwent electrical stimulation training (45 min daily for 3 days per week for 10 weeks). One leg was trained statically with load, and the contralateral leg was trained dynamically with minimal load. Isometric force assessed with 35-HZ stimuli increased significantly in both legs from baseline, with the static-trained leg also being significantly higher than the dynamic-trained leg. The vastus lateralis muscle of the statically trained leg showed a significant increase in type I fibers, fiber cross-sectional area, capillary-to-fiber ratio, and citrate synthase activity when compared to both baseline and the dynamically trained leg. Relative oxygenation of the vastus lateralis muscle as determined by near infrared spectroscopy was also significantly greater after static training. This study indicates that the load that is applied to paralyzed muscle during an electrical stimulation training program is an important factor in determining the amount of muscle adaptation that can be achieved.
authors.affiliation: Sports Medicine Research Unit, Bispebjerg Hospital, Bispebjerg, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark. rcrameri@alcor.concordia.ca
authors.forename: Regina M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Crameri
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sinclair
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.forename: Adele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weston
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002196:Capillaries / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D048429:Cell Size / Q000502:physiology; D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase / Q000378:metabolism; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase