title: Effects of graduated compression stockings on cardiovascular and metabolic responses to exercise and exercise recovery in persons with spinal cord injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether reporting blood redistribution by means of graduated elastic stockings affects exercise and postexercise responses in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Crossover trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Physical medicine and rehabilitation department in France.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen men with traumatic SCI, grouped according to their level of injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects performed 2 maximal wheelchair exercise tests 1 week apart, in random order and under a counter-balanced design. One test was done with and the other without graduated elastic stockings (21 mmHg).
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood lactate, blood pressure, heart rate, maximal power output, and oxygen consumption (Vo2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Postexercise venous lactate concentration was reduced in SCI subjects with lesion levels below T6 while wearing graduated elastic stockings during both exercise and recovery (10.9+/-3.9 mmol/L vs 12.5+/-4.6 mmol/L, P<.05). There were no significant differences in submaximal and maximal values (heart rate, Vo2, power output) between subjects tested with and without graduated elastic stockings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Wearing elastic stockings affects postexercise responses by decreasing lactate concentration in well-trained, low-level paraplegic patients after a maximal exercise. The relatively low pressure generated by the stockings may not, however, influence the venous system enough to produce improved performance and cardiovascular responses.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche Physiologie et Physiopathologie de l'Exercice et Handicap, Université Jean Monnet, and Service de Médecine Physique et de Réadaptation, Hôpital Bellevue, Saint Etienne, France. diana_rimaud@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rimaud
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calmels
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mongold
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Trudeau
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Devillard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D015444:Exercise; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D053828:Stockings, Compression
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid