Acute Peripheral Blood Flow Response Induced by Passive Leg Cycle Exercise in People With Spinal Cord Injury
Abstract
Ballaz L, Fusco N, Crétual A, Langella B, Brissot R. Acute peripheral blood flow response induced by passive leg cycle exercise in people with spinal cord injury.
Objective
To determine the acute femoral artery hemodynamic response in paraplegic subjects during a passive leg cycle exercise.
Design
Case series.
Setting
Department of physical medicine and rehabilitation in a university in France.
Participants
A volunteer sample of 15 people with traumatic spinal cord injury.
Intervention
Subjects performed a 10-minute session of passive leg cycle exercise in the sitting position.
Main Outcome Measures
We measured heart rate, maximal (Vmax), and minimal femoral artery blood flow velocity at rest and immediately after the passive leg cycle exercise, using quantitative duplex Doppler ultrasound. We calculated mean blood flow velocity (Vmean) and velocity index, representing the peripheral resistance, for each condition.
Results
Vmax and Vmean increased (from .80±.18m/s to .96±.24m/s, P<.01; and from .058±.02m/s to .076±.03m/s, P<.01; respectively) after 10 minutes of passive leg cycle exercise. Heart rate did not change. The velocity index decreased from 1.23±0.15 to 1.16±0.21 (P=.038).
Conclusions
The results of this study suggest that acute passive leg cycle exercise increases vascular blood flow velocity in paralyzed legs of people with paraplegia. This exercise could have clinical implications for immobilized persons.
aPhysiology and Biomechanics Laboratory, Sports Department, Rennes 2 University, France
bDepartment of Radiology, University Hospital Center, Rennes, France
cDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Hospital Center, Rennes, France.
Reprint requests to Laurent Ballaz, PhD, Laboratoire de Physiologie et de Biomécanique de l’Exercice Musculaire, UFR-APS, Université Rennes 2, Ave Charles Tillon – CS 24 414, 35 044 Rennes Cedex, France
Supported by the Brittany Regional Council through the CRITT health project.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.
ABSTRACT