Friday March 12 , 2010

Site Purpose

Guide to FES CyclingThis site has two intentions.  Information about FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) - and in particular FES Cycling.  The second is to offer support and information to our clients. 

If you would like a Guide Document to FES Cycling please Click Here and complete the form or Click the Image to Request a Copy

What is FES Cycling?

FES Cycling is an effective way of keeping fit when, following a spinal cord injury, regular exercise is difficult to get.

This is a therapeutic activity that uses transcutaneous electrical current to initiate muscle contractions of paralysed lower limbs in persons who have sustained a spinal cord injury or been affected by stroke or MS.

The order and strength of the muscle contractions are controlled by computer to generate the power to pedal a stationary cycle. The aim is not to provide passive motion - but to actively engage the muscles to generate muscle strength and improve fitness.

Benefits

Key benefits of FESCycling exercise are as follows:

  • Cardio-pulmonary fitness
  • Rebuild muscle strength and bulk
  • Improve bone density
  • Improve blood circulation
  • Improve intestinal & bladder function
  • Improve response to insulin (diabetes)
  • Decrease limb spasticity
  • Improved feelings of well-being

FES is a useful in many cerebral motor lesions of the lower limbs including Paraplegia/ Spinal Cord Injury and Stroke

US survey shows impact of spinal cord injury

Researchers have reported on a survey of more than 33,000 US households. The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s Paralysis Resource Center (PRC),  participated in one of the largest population-based samples of any disability ever conducted.

Sufficient information on the prevalence of persons living with paralysis and spinal cord injuries (SCI) has always been hard to come by. Most information reported regarding paralysis and SCI is extremely outdated. The new data demonstrates that paralysis may be dramatically more widespread than previously thought.

Below are some of the report’s major findings:
  • Approximately 1.9 percent of the U.S. population, or 5,596,000 people reported they were living with some form of paralysis, defined by the study as a central nervous system disorder resulting in difficulty or inability to move the upper or lower extremities. This is about one-third more Americans living with paralysis than previously estimated (4 million).
  • The leading cause of paralysis was stroke (29 percent), followed by spinal cord injury (23 percent) and multiple sclerosis (17 percent).
  • Data indicate that 1,275,000 people in the United States are living with spinal cord injury—more than five times the number of Americans previously estimated in 2007 (255,702).
 “These findings have major implications for the treatment of spinal cord and paralysis-related diseases—not only for those living with these conditions, but also for their families, caregivers, health care providers, and employers. 
 
As the number of people living with paralysis and spinal cord injuries increases, for example, so do the costs associated with treating them. Each year, paralysis and spinal cord injuries cost the health care system billions of dollars. Spinal cord injuries alone cost roughly $40.5 billion annually—a 317 percent increase from costs estimated in 1998 ($9.7 billion),” the report states.

 

The report is available as a PDF document at this link www.christopherreeve.org

 

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Contact Us

Anatomical Concepts (UK) Ltd
8-10 Dunrobin Court
Clydebank Business Park
Clydebank
Scotland

E: info@fescycling.com
T:+44(0)141-952-2323

Registered in Scotland No SC162409

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