title: Pilot study of the effect of low-cadence functional electrical stimulation cycling after spinal cord injury on thigh girth and strength.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the long-term effects of functional electrical stimulation (FES)-evoked cycle training cadence on leg muscle hypertrophy and electrically evoked strength.
  
  
  METHODS
  Open intervention study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Laboratory setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Untrained individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (N=8).
  
  
  METHODS
  Six weeks (3d/wk) of training on an isokinetic FES cycle ergometer. For each subject, 1 leg was randomly allocated to cycling at 10 revolutions per minute (rpm) (LOW) for 30min/d, and the other cycling at 50rpm (HIGH) for 30min/d.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pre- and posttraining measurements of lower limb circumference were performed at the distal and middle position of each thigh. Electrically evoked quadriceps muscle torque during an isometric contraction was also assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six weeks of FES cycle training significantly increased thigh girth in both LOW and HIGH groups. At midthigh, girth increases induced by LOW (6.6%±1.2%) were significantly greater than those by HIGH (3.6%±0.8%). LOW also produced greater gains in electrically evoked isometric torque than HIGH after training.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that lower pedaling cadences evoke greater muscle hypertrophy and electrically stimulated muscle strength compared with higher cadences.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Exercise and Rehabilitation Unit, Exercise Health and Performance Research Group, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Che.Fornusek@Sydney.edu.au
authors.forename: Ché
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fornusek
authors.forename: Glen Macartney
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Michael Friedrich
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Russold
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001642:Bicycling / Q000502:physiology; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D053580:Muscle Strength; D009929:Organ Size; D010865:Pilot Projects; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D019415:Torque