FES Cycling - Fitness after spinal cord injury

An article by Phillip Krause, Johann Szecsi and Andreas Straube from the University of Munich reported benefits in reducing spastic muscle tone in a patient with MS. Stimulation by means of surface electrodes applied to the thigh muscles induced cycling leg movements.
Spastic muscle tone was measured clinically using the modified Ashworth scale and semiautomatically by pendulum testing of spasticity. This was done before and directly after stimulation.

The patient was able to endure the stimulation for 30 minutes;  there was a significant reduction of spasticity after each stimulation session. The authors conclude, that this type of stimulation could be another potential treatment modality for multiple sclerosis patients, especially those with a high score in the expanded disability Status scale.

Read more: FES Cycling reduces spasticity in MS patient

Review articles are always excellent ways of keeping abrest of medical techniques and their apparent effectiveness. 

A new article in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery entitled "What’s New in Orthopaedic Rehabilitation" by Harish Hosalkar, MD, MBMS(Orth), FCPS(Orth), DNB(Orth), Jason Hsu, MD, Nirav K. Pandya, MD, and Mary Ann Keenan, MD - see J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2008;90:2301-11.

includes a section on management of spinal cord injury.  The authors report on the work of Griffin et al. who investigated functional electrical stimulation cycling and its effect on the metabolic, body composition, and neurologic profile of patients with paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury.

Read more: Orthopods recognise value of FES Cycling

FES Sport - A new sport and health frontier

A meeting to be held in Glasgow June 19th &20th 2009. Advances in Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) are now allowing spinal cord injured individuals to routinely exercise using their own muscles, when previously their injury would have served as a permanent barrier to this.  The technology is improving but there is much still to do.

Combining FES with a motorised indoor or outdoor cycle (FES Cycling) or a rowing machine (FES Rowing) has been proven to open up new possibilities for spinal cord injured persons to grasp better health, develop fitness and find athletic challenge.  Much more can follow and maybe you can help. Here is a video of the 2006 event to whet your appetite.

Join us to ride the next wave
This event, to be held in Glasgow for the first time, brings together

•   Persons with spinal cord injuries who can make direct use of this technology – and who really want to know what the fuss is all about
•   Persons from around the world who are already using FES activated sports technologies and now want to share what they have learned - taking things to the next level.
•    Developers and researchers who are shaping present and future technologies in FES Sport
•   Sports therapists and their knowledge of athletic performance; helping to optimise training for individuals challenged by physical disability

Read more: 2nd International FES Sport Day