Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 90, Issue 8 , Pages 1379-1388 , August 2009

A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effects of Cycling With and Without Electrical Stimulation on Cardiorespiratory and Vascular Health in Children With Spinal Cord Injury

Presented to the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society, November 10–14, 2007, Philadelphia, PA; World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress, June 2–6, 2007, Vancouver, BC; Physical Therapy Combined Sections Meeting, February 14–18, 2007, Boston, MA; and Injury and Dysfunction of the Spinal Cord in Children, November 30–December 2, 2006, Orlando, FL.

  • Therese E. Johnston, PT, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Physical Therapy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
    • Shriners Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests to Therese E. Johnston, PT, PhD, MBA, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, 600 S 43rd St, Box 39, Philadelphia, PA 19104
    • ,
  • Brian T. Smith, MS

      Affiliations

    • Shriners Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA
    • ,
  • Mary J. Mulcahey, OTL/R, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Shriners Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA
    • ,
  • Randal R. Betz, MD

      Affiliations

    • Shriners Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA
    • ,
  • Richard T. Lauer, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Shriners Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA
    • Department of Physical Therapy, Temple University Philadelphia, PA

  • Image Result

    Child with paraplegia on the FES cycle.

    Child with paraplegia on the FES cycle.

  • Image Result

    Flowchart diagram for the study.

    Flowchart diagram for the study.

  • Image Result

    (A) V̇o2 values and (B) average percent change in V̇o2 per group. There were no differences between groups in uptake values over time (P=.588, power=.133); however, the FESC group showed a significant

    (A) V̇o2 values and (B) average percent change in V̇o2 per group. There were no differences between groups in uptake values over time (P=.588, power=.133); however, the FESC group showed a significant increase in average percent change as compared with the passive cycling group (P=.033, power=.651) with Bonferroni post hoc testing showing that the FESC group had a greater positive percent change than did the passive cycling group (P=.035) (FESC vs ES, P=1.00; PC vs ES, P=.185). In examining baseline and 6-month values within each group, the changes did not reach statistical significance (FESC, P=.056; PC, P=.095; ES, P=.23). Abbreviations: ES, electrical stimulation; FESC, functional electrical stimulation cycling; PC, passive cycling.

  • Image Result
    Resting heart rate values per group. There were no changes in resting heart rate over time for any group (P=.991, power=.051). One-tailed paired t tests also showed no changes within each group (FESC,

    Resting heart rate values per group. There were no changes in resting heart rate over time for any group (P=.991, power=.051). One-tailed paired t tests also showed no changes within each group (FESC, P=.12; PC, P=.16; ES, P=.18). The slight decline noted may be because of children being 6 months older. Abbreviations: ES, electrical stimulation; FESC, functional electrical stimulation cycling; PC, passive cycling.

  • Image Result
    FVC per group. There were no differences between groups over time for FVC when comparing baseline and 6-month values (P=.637, power=.098). One-tailed paired t tests also showed no changes within each

    FVC per group. There were no differences between groups over time for FVC when comparing baseline and 6-month values (P=.637, power=.098). One-tailed paired t tests also showed no changes within each group (FESC, P=.50; PC, P=.45; ES, P=.10). Abbreviations: ES, electrical stimulation; FESC, functional electrical stimulation cycling; PC, passive cycling.

 Supported by the Shriners Hospitals for Children (grant no. 8540).

 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.

 Clinical Trials Registration Number: NCT00245726.

PII: S0003-9993(09)00314-1

doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2009.02.018

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 90, Issue 8 , Pages 1379-1388 , August 2009

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