Abstract
Cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis result in reduced life expectancy and low energy fractures in SCI. In the
future, new cellular treatments are anticipated that aim to restore neurological function; however, these are only likely
to be of benefit to either the recently injured or to those who have avoided irreversible secondary conditions such as
CVD and osteoporosis. FES rowing potentially offers significant cardiovascular health benefits. Here preliminary
results are presented, using two forms of FES. Joint contact forces are presented for a T4 (ASIA A, 11yrs post injury)
72.5kg male with 9 yrs of daily FES rowing experience. Peak joint contact forces at the knee (but not the hip, ankle or
foot) were in excess of 1.5× body weight (BW) at stroke rates approx 30 cycles/min, with over 7200 loading cycles per
month. This pattern of usage is expected to provide significant cardiovascular health benefits as well as preserve bone
mineral around the knee- which is a common fracture site. Joint contact forces up to 4 times BW were observed
depending on rowing technique. Thus there is an increased risk of fracture. Although we have not observed any
fractures so far, it is now required to determine safe training protocols for FES rowing.
future, new cellular treatments are anticipated that aim to restore neurological function; however, these are only likely
to be of benefit to either the recently injured or to those who have avoided irreversible secondary conditions such as
CVD and osteoporosis. FES rowing potentially offers significant cardiovascular health benefits. Here preliminary
results are presented, using two forms of FES. Joint contact forces are presented for a T4 (ASIA A, 11yrs post injury)
72.5kg male with 9 yrs of daily FES rowing experience. Peak joint contact forces at the knee (but not the hip, ankle or
foot) were in excess of 1.5× body weight (BW) at stroke rates approx 30 cycles/min, with over 7200 loading cycles per
month. This pattern of usage is expected to provide significant cardiovascular health benefits as well as preserve bone
mineral around the knee- which is a common fracture site. Joint contact forces up to 4 times BW were observed
depending on rowing technique. Thus there is an increased risk of fracture. Although we have not observed any
fractures so far, it is now required to determine safe training protocols for FES rowing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2012 |
Bibliographical note
This paper, given at The Annual Conference of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS), Banff, Canada, 9-12 Sept 2012 is available to download at the conference website http://ifess2012.com/.This paper has been accepted into the annual conference of the Annual Conference of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS), Banff, Canada which has a rejection rate in excess of 70%.
Keywords
- www.FES rowing.org
- 3D biomechanics
- floating stretcher ergometer
- osteoporosis
- fracture risk in SCI.
