Acute physiological responses to electrical muscle stimulation in a spinal cord injured man – a case study

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a leading cause of death in populations with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and is contributed to by a lack of opportunities to engage in physical activity as well as limited motor function [1]. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) has been suggested as a novel CV training tool to alleviate this problem associated with SCI by increasing peak oxygen consumption (VO2) and heart rate (HR) [2]. However the use of FES is limited by its effect on muscle fatigue as well as the need for specialist equipment and training. Our research group have devised an electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) training device which has improved CV health in obese and chronic heart failure populations [3], whose symptoms are akin to those of SCI patients with CV symptoms. These results warrant further investigation into this system`s effects on the CV health of people with SCI.