title: Heart rate response during underwater treadmill training in adults with incomplete spinal cord injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Walking on a submerged treadmill can improve mobility in persons displaying lower limb muscle weakness and balance deficits. Little is known, however, regarding the effect of water treadmill exercise on cardiac performance in persons with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess heart rate response during underwater treadmill training (UTT) in adults with iSCI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven males and 4 females with iSCI (age = 48 ± 13 years; 5 ± 8 years after injury) completed 8 weeks of UTT (3 sessions per week; 3 walks per session) incorporating individually determined walking speeds, personalized levels of body weight unloading, and gradual, alternating increases in speed and duration. Heart rate was monitored during the last 15 seconds of the final 2 minutes of each walk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over the course of 3 biweekly periods in which walking speed remained constant, heart rate fell by 7% (7 ± 1 b•min(-1); P < .001) in weeks 2 and 3, 14% (17 ± 6 b•min(-1); P < .001) in weeks 4 and 5, and 17% (21 ± 11 b•min(-1); P < .001) in weeks 6 and 7.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In adults with iSCI, progressively greater absolute and relative reductions in submaximal exercise heart rate occurred after 2 months of UTT featuring a systematic increase in training volume.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Performance, Middle Tennessee State University , Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Performance, Middle Tennessee State University , Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Don W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007101:Immersion; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D013997:Time Factors; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: gait training; heart rate response; spinal cord injury; underwater treadmill