I was reading a report written in the 1990's with the support of the Cleveland FES Centre in the USA.

Within the report the authors suggested that with consistent exercise, about two thirds of FES exercise system users can expect benefits such as, improved cardiovascular health, improved fitness, increased leg muscle strength and increased leg muscle bulk. 

Some FES exercise users reported increases in

• Employment opportunities.
• Participation in social activities.
• Efficiency in activities of daily living. 

Why did the other one third not receive the same level of benefits?

The likely reason is that they did not for one reason or another persist with the exercise programme. Motivation is the key. Research suggests that the benefits are there if a programme of regular exercise is followed. 

When there is damage only to the central nervous system, the muscle and its nerve supply remain healthy. The reason they don’t work is that they are cut off from the command signals coming from the brain.

FES applied near the muscle or nerve can then substitute artificial electrical signals for the missing normal motor signals. The carefully controlled electrical impulses make the muscle contract.

Things are different when there is also denervation. When that happens, the nerve-muscle connection is broken.  Stimulating the nerve with FES pulses will not make the muscle contract. Electrical pulses applied to the nerve or muscle will face the same barrier faced by the normal signals from the brain.

When Porsche designs a wheelchair, you would imagine that it should be good ... and probably expensive!!

Pegasus is an alternative solution to the current manually operated wheelchairs for paraplegic people.
Image below.

Anatomical Concepts (UK) is a Scottish based company with a ten year track record of working with innovative health care products - in particular we have always tried to be close to the real clinical issues and develop products that make a difference.  We are very pleased to now be working with Hasomed GmbH and helping them to bring their very special products to the UK.

These products include systems that allow practical exercise for spinal cord injured people using functional electrical stimulation (FES). We are also exploring possibilities in stroke rehabilitation and MS.

There are lots of web sites that focus on FES and on its application in spinal cord injury - so why bother with this one? 

A new study from the University of Glasgow and University College London has demonstrated that not only is FES cycling a practical and fun recreational activity for spinal cord individuals but confirmed that there are also significant benefits to fitness and health.

Spinal cord injury can restrict exercise participation.  As a consequence, fitness can reduce and there is increasing risk of health complications and illness. In this study, a group of subjects with complete lower-limb paralysis trained intensively (5 hours per week) using adapted recumbent tricycles at their homes. The cycles incorporate controlled functional electrical stimulation of the paralysed leg muscles: this is known as FES-cycling. 

The subjects also participated in mobile, recreational cycling sessions outdoors and in leisure facilities.

It is known that people with spinal cord injury (SCI) have a higher risk (3 to 5 times) of developing diabetes than the general population. This high prevalence of diabetes and inpaired glucoose tolerance has been attributed to changes om body composition and muscle characteristics following the injury.  These changes occur due to relative inactivity and muscle neuron paralysis in people with SCI.

Exercise and particularly aerobic exercise, is considered a cornerstone in the prevention and treatment of diabetes because it has been shown to be effective in improving muscle, adipose tissue and whole body insulin sensitivity.

A study published in 2002 in the Journal Spinal Cord, investigated the effects of FES Cycling on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in a group of seven  individuals  with motor complete spinal cord lesions.