Effect of detraining on bone and muscle tissue in subjects with chronic spinal cord injury after a period of electrically-stimulated cycling: a small cohort study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate adaptive changes in bone and muscle parameters in the paralysed limbs after detraining or reduced functional electrical stimulation (FES) induced cycling following high-volume FES-cycling in chronic spinal cord injury.


METHODS
Five subjects with motor-sensory complete spinal cord injury (age 38.6 years, lesion duration 11.4 years) were included. Four subjects stopped FES-cycling completely after the training phase whereas one continued reduced FES-cycling (2-3 times/week, for 30 min).


METHODS
Bone and muscle parameters were assessed in the legs using peripheral quantitative computed tomography at 6 and 12 months after cessation of high-volume FES-cycling.


RESULTS
Gains achieved in the distal femur by high-volume FES-cycling were partly maintained at one year of detraining: 73.0% in trabecular bone mineral density, 63.8% in total bone mineral density, 59.4% in bone mineral content and 22.1% in muscle cross-sectional area in the thigh. The subject who continued reduced FES-cycling maintained 96.2% and 95.0% of the previous gain in total and trabecular bone mineral density, and 98.5% in muscle cross-sectional area.


CONCLUSIONS
Bone and muscle benefits achieved by one year of high-volume FES-cycling are partly preserved after 12 months of detraining, whereas reduced cycling maintains bone and muscle mass gained. This suggests that high-volume FES-cycling has clinical relevance for at least one year after detraining.
Frotzler
Angela
A
Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland.
Coupaud
Sylvie
S
Perret
Claudio
C
Kakebeeke
Tanja H
TH
Hunt
Kenneth J
KJ
Eser
Prisca
P
D000328:Adult; D001642:Bicycling; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000209:etiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*