Temperature responses to electrically induced cycling in spinal cord injured persons

The Influence of Exercise on Oxidative Stress after Spinal Cord Injury: A Narrative Review

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an irreversible disease resulting in partial or total loss of sensory and motor function. The pathophysiology of SCI is characterized by an initial primary injury phase followed by a secondary phase in which reactive oxygen species (ROSs) and associated oxidative stress play hallmark roles. Physical exercise is an indispensable means of promoting psychophysical well-being and improving quality of life. It positively influences the neuromuscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune systems. Moreover, exercise may provide a mechanism to regulate the variation and equilibrium between pro-oxidants and antioxidants. After a brief overview of spinal cord anatomy and the different types of spinal cord injury, the purpose of this review is to investigate the evidence regarding the effect of exercise on oxidative stress among individuals with SCI.

Does aerobic exercise benefit persons with tetraplegia from spinal cord injury? A systematic review

CONTEXT

This review synthesizes the findings of previous research studies on the cardiovascular and metabolic benefits of aerobic exercise for individuals with tetraplegia secondary to spinal cord injury. They are often less active due to muscular paralysis, sensory loss, and sympathetic nervous system dysfunction that result from injury. Consequently, these persons are at higher risk for exercise intolerance and secondary health conditions.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the evidence concerning efficacy of aerobic exercise training for improving health and exercise performance in persons with tetraplegia from cervical injury.

METHODS

The search engines PubMed and Google Scholar were used to locate published research. The final 75 papers were selected on the basis of inclusion criteria. The studies were then rank-ordered using Physiotherapy Evidence Database.

RESULTS

Studies combining individuals with tetraplegia and paraplegia show that voluntary arm-crank training can increase mean peak power output by 33%. Functional electrical stimulation leg cycling was shown to induce higher peak cardiac output and stroke volume than arm-crank exercise. A range of peak oxygen uptake (VO_2peak) values have been reported (0.57-1.32 L/min). Both VO_2peak and cardiac output may be enhanced via increased muscle pump in the legs and venous return to the heart. Hybrid exercise (arm-crank and functional electrical stimulation leg cycling) can result in greater peak oxygen uptake and cardiovascular responses.

CONCLUSION

Evidence gathered from this systematic review of literature is inconclusive due to the lack of research focusing on those with tetraplegia. Higher power studies (level 1-3) are needed with the focus on those with tetraplegia.

Impact of exercise training on oxidative stress in individuals with a spinal cord injury

Individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) have an increased cardiovascular risk. We hypothesize that (anti)oxidative imbalance is associated with the increased cardiovascular risk in SCI, while exercise can reverse this status. The aim of the study is to compare baseline levels of oxidative stress and antioxidative capacity between individuals with SCI and able-bodied (AB) subjects, and to assess acute and long-term effects of functional electrical stimulation (FES) exercise on oxidative stress and antioxidative capacity in SCI. Venous blood was taken from subjects with an SCI (n = 9) and age- and gender-matched AB subjects (n = 9) to examine oxidative stress through malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, while superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzyme levels represented anti-oxidative capacity. Subsequently, subjects with an SCI performed an 8-week FES exercise training period. Blood was taken before and after the first exercise bout and after the last FES session to examine the acute and chronic effect of FES exercise, respectively. Baseline levels of MDA, SOD and GPx were not different between individuals with SCI and AB subjects. SCI demonstrated a correlation between initial fitness level and MDA (R = -0.83, P = 0.05). MDA, SOD and GPx levels were neither altered by a single FES exercise bout nor by 8 weeks FES training. In conclusion, although individuals with an SCI demonstrate a preserved (anti)oxidative status, the correlation between fitness level and (anti)oxidative balance suggests that higher fitness levels are related to improved (anti)oxidative status in SCI. Nonetheless, the FES exercise stimulus was insufficient to acutely or chronically change (anti)oxidative status in individuals with an SCI.

Effect of functional electrostimulation on impaired skin vasodilator responses to local heating in spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) induces vascular adaptations below the level of the lesion, such as impaired cutaneous vasodilation. However, the mechanisms underlying these differences are unclear. The aim of this study is to examine arm and leg cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) responses to local heating in 17 able-bodied controls (39 +/- 13 yr) and 18 SCI subjects (42 +/- 8 yr). SCI subjects were counterbalanced for functional electrostimulation (FES) cycling exercise (SCI-EX, n = 9) or control (SCI-C, n = 9) and reanalyzed after 8 wk. Arm and leg skin blood flow were measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry during local heating (42 degrees C), resulting in an axon-reflex mediated first peak, nadir, and a primarily nitric oxide-dependent plateau phase. Data were expressed as a percentage of maximal CVC (44 degrees C). CVC responses to local heating in the paralyzed leg, but also in the forearm of SCI subjects, were lower than in able-bodied controls (P < 0.05 and 0.01, respectively). The 8-wk intervention did not change forearm and leg CVC responses to local heating in SCI-C and SCI-EX, but increased femoral artery diameter in SCI-EX (P < 0.05). Interestingly, findings in skin microvessels contrast with conduit arteries, where physical (in)activity contributes to adaptations in SCI. The lower CVC responses in the paralyzed legs might suggest a role for inactivity in SCI, but the presence of impaired CVC responses in the normally active forearm suggests other mechanisms. This is supported by a lack of adaptation in skin microcirculation after FES cycle training. This might relate to the less frequent and smaller magnitude of skin blood flow responses to heat stimuli, compared with controls, than physical inactivity per se.

Oxygen consumption during functional electrical stimulation-assisted exercise in persons with spinal cord injury: implications for fitness and health

A lesion in the spinal cord leads in most cases to a significant reduction in active muscle mass, whereby the paralysed muscles cannot contribute to oxygen consumption (VO2) during exercise. Consequently, persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) can only achieve high VO2 values by excessively stressing the upper body musculature, which might increase the risk of musculoskeletal overuse injury. Alternatively, the muscle mass involved may be increased by using functional electrical stimulation (FES). FES-assisted cycling, FES-cycling combined with arm cranking (FES-hybrid exercise) and FES-rowing have all been suggested as candidates for cardiovascular training in SCI. In this article, we review the levels of VO2 (peak [VO2peak] and sub-peak [VO2sub-peak]) that have been reported for SCI subjects using these FES exercise modalities. A systematic literature search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL, SportDiscus and the authors' own files revealed 35 studies that reported on 499 observations of VO2 levels achieved during FES-exercise in SCI. The results show that VO2peak during FES-rowing (1.98 L/min, n = 17; 24.1 mL/kg/min, n = 11) and FES-hybrid exercise (1.78 L/min, n = 67; 26.5 mL/kg/min, n = 35) is considerably higher than during FES-cycling (1.05 L/min, n = 264; 14.3 mL/kg/min, n = 171). VO2sub-peak values during FES-hybrid exercise were higher than during FES-cycling. FES-exercise training can produce large increases in VO2peak; the included studies report average increases of +11% after FES-rowing training, +12% after FES-hybrid exercise training and +28% after FES-cycling training. This review shows that VO2 during FES-rowing or FES-hybrid exercise is considerably higher than during FES-cycling. These observations are confirmed by a limited number of direct comparisons; larger studies to test the differences in effectiveness of the various types of FES-exercise as cardiovascular exercise are needed. The results to date suggest that FES-rowing and FES-hybrid are more suited for high-intensity, high-volume exercise training than FES-cycling. In able-bodied people, such exercise programmes have shown to result in superior health and fitness benefits. Future research should examine whether similar high-intensity and high-volume exercise programmes also give persons with SCI superior fitness and health benefits. This kind of research is very timely given the high incidence of physical inactivity-related health conditions in the aging SCI population.

Cardiovascular control during exercise: insights from spinal cord-injured humans

BACKGROUND

We studied the role of the central nervous system, neural feedback from contracting skeletal muscles, and sympathetic activity to the heart in the control of heart rate and blood pressure during 2 levels of dynamic exercise.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Spinal cord-injured individuals (SCI) with (paraplegia, n=4) or without (tetraplegia, n=6) sympathetic innervation to the heart performed electrically induced exercise. Responses were compared with those established by able-bodied individuals (control, n=6) performing voluntary exercise at a similar pulmonary oxygen uptake. In all subjects, cardiac output and leg blood flow increased, but in SCI they reached a maximal value. The increase in cardiac output was mainly elicited by an increase in stroke volume in individuals with tetraplegia, whereas in individuals with paraplegia it was by heart rate. The increase in SCI was slow compared with that in controls. During exercise, blood pressure was stable in controls, whereas it decreased over time in SCI and especially in individuals with tetraplegia.

CONCLUSIONS

The autonomic nervous system provides for acceleration of the heart at the onset of exercise, but a slow increase in heart rate is established even without central command, neural feedback from working muscles, or autonomic influence on the heart. Yet an intact autonomic nervous system is a prerequisite for a large rise in cardiac output and in turn leg blood flow during exercise. Thus, when the sympathetic nervous system is injured at a level where it influences the heart, vasodilatation in working muscles challenges blood pressure.

Physiology of wheelchair racing in athletes with spinal cord injury

Wheelchair racing is one of the most popular sporting activities of individuals with spinal cord injury. Athletes with this impairment have unique changes in metabolic, cardiorespiratory, neuromuscular and thermoregulatory systems, which reduce their overall physiological capacity compared with able-bodied individuals or individuals with other types of impairments. This review on spinal cord injury: presents the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation classification of wheelchair athletes; describes methods commonly used to characterise anaerobic and aerobic fitness; presents the findings of physiological studies that have evaluated wheelchair racing performance; identifies the risks associated with temperature regulation when competing in wheelchair races; and discusses special conditions that can influence wheelchair racing performance. Currently there is limited research that has examined the relationship between sprint or distance wheelchair racing performance and the anaerobic and aerobic components of physical fitness. Although the descriptive evidence indicates that the profiles of these athletes reflect their training and participation in these specific events, the association between their physiological profiles and real or simulated racing performance is unclear. The generally accepted concept that high values of aerobic and anaerobic power are strongly correlated with endurance and sprint racing performance, respectively, are not necessarily true in this population. Athletes with spinal cord injury have an impaired thermoregulatory capacity, because the compromised autonomic and somatic nervous system functions disrupt control of skin blood flow and sweating below the level of the lesion. As a result, they may be more susceptible to hyperthermia during distance wheelchair racing performance. Wheelchair athletes should follow recommendations advocated for able-bodied individuals to minimise their risks of heat stress during competition. Many athletes with quadriplegia voluntarily induce autonomic dysreflexia (commonly known as boosting) during distance racing events to improve performance. Experimental evidence indicates that boosting can improve performance time by 10% in elite wheelchair marathon racers during simulated racing, as a result of increased oxygen utilisation in the boosted state. However, since boosting can be dangerous to health, the International Paralympic Committee has banned athletes from voluntarily inducing it during competition. The use of anti-gravity suits to increase lower-body positive pressure can increase the peak oxygen uptake, cardiac output and stroke volume. However, the use of abdominal binders does not influence these physiological responses. An effect of either of these techniques on wheelchair racing performance has not been demonstrated.