Use of electrically stimulated exercise following spinal cord injury is recommended for improving fitness, and can be enhanced by the addition of upper limb exercise. Laboratory trials of electrically stimulated leg cycling (ESLC) have led to increased oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production, and reactivation of the venous muscle pump, increasing stroke volume and cardiac output during exercise. However transfer of these eftects into home and community settings has been poor. The Power Trainer, a commercially available device, combines active arm crank exercise (ACE) with ESLC, achieving hybrid exercise (HE). Despite its relative simplicity compared with legs only electrical stimulation cycles, exercise responses associated with its use have not been researched. The exercising muscle mass during HE with the Power Trainer is increased compared with either arms only or legs only exercise, increasing respiratory demands. If venous return is also increased, such exercise will fulfil the requirements for regaining fitness following a spinal cord injury. Differences were investigated between the cardiorespiratory responses to ACE and HE on the Power Trainer. Responses were measured during 30 minutes of steady state exercise with each exercise modality.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/201901 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Rischbieth, Henry |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | EN-AUS |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Henry Rischbieth 1999 |
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