Role of Activity in Defining Metabolic and Contractile Adaptations After SCI

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to moderate to severe muscle paralysis, loss of lower-limb functionality and often results in a reduced physical activity. As a consequence, people with SCI demonstrate numerous metabolic and contractile transformations such as leg muscles atrophy, a transformation from slow, fatigue-resistant fibers to fast, fatigable fibers, a decreased vascularization. Appropriate exercise and most especially exercise using functional electrical stimulation (FES) is now well-known to have beneficial effects on muscle characteristics, force output, exercise capacity, but also bone mineral density and cardiovascular parameters. For example, increases in muscle mass and str…

Reproducibility, validity and responsiveness of the 200-metre fast walk test in patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation

Objective: To investigate the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the 200-metre fast walk test in patients with coronary artery disease engaged in a cardiac rehabilitation programme. Design: Descriptive study. Setting: Tertiary care hospital. Subjects: Thirty stable patients with coronary artery disease (51.9 ± 8.7 years), referred to the cardiac rehabilitation department after an acute coronary syndrome. Intervention: Not applicable. Main measures: Six-minute walk test distance, time to perform the 200-m fast walk test, peak power output of the graded maximal exercise test, before and after the programme; SF-36 quality of life questionnaire at baseline. Walk tests were performed tw…

Are first ventilatory threshold and 6-minute walk test heart rate interchangeable? A pilot study in healthy elderlies and cardiac patients

International audience; BACKGROUND: Heart rate (HR) at the ventilatory threshold (VT) is often used to prescribe exercise intensity in cardiac rehabilitation. Some studies have reported no significant difference between HR at VT and HR measured at the end of a 6-min walk test (6-MWT) in cardiac patients. The aim of this work was to assess the potential equivalence between those parameters at the individual level. METHOD: Three groups of subjects performed a stress test and a 6-MWT: 22 healthy elderlies (GES, 77 +/- 3.7 years), 10 stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients (GMI, 50.9 +/- 4.2 years) and 30 patients with chronic heart failure (GHF, 63.3 +/- 10 years). We analyzed the correl…

Effects of electrical stimulation pattern on quadriceps isometric force and fatigue in individuals with spinal cord injury

Introduction Variable frequency trains (VFT) or train combinations have been suggested as useful strategies to offset the rapid fatigue induced by constant frequency trains (CFT) during electrical stimulation. However, most studies have been of short duration with limited functional application in those with spinal cord injury (SCI). We therefore tested force and fatigue in response to VFT, CFT, and combined patterns in strength training-like conditions (6-s contractions). Methods Ten SCI individuals underwent either CFT or VFT patterns until target torque was no longer produced and then switched immediately to the other pattern. Results Target torque was reached more times when VFT was use…

Effects of electrical stimulation pattern on quadriceps isometric force and fatigue in individuals with spinal cord injury

Introduction Variable frequency trains (VFT) or train combinations have been suggested as useful strategies to offset the rapid fatigue induced by constant frequency trains (CFT) during electrical stimulation. However, most studies have been of short duration with limited functional application in those with spinal cord injury (SCI). We therefore tested force and fatigue in response to VFT, CFT, and combined patterns in strength training-like conditions (6-s contractions). Methods Ten SCI individuals underwent either CFT or VFT patterns until target torque was no longer produced and then switched immediately to the other pattern. Results Target torque was reached more times when VFT was use…

Effects of 6 months functional electrical stimulation rowing training in spinal cord injury patients.

An Acute Dose of Specific Grape and Apple Polyphenols Improves Endurance Performance: A Randomized, Crossover, Double-Blind versus Placebo Controlled Study

International audience; Polyphenols are thought to be an interesting ergogenic aid for exercise and recovery. However, most studies regarding the effects of polyphenols investigated several days of supplementations. The present work aimed to study the effects of an acute intake of grape and apple polyphenols on the capacity to maintain intense exercise, here named endurance performance. Forty-eight physically active men (31 ± 6 years) were included in this study. During the two testing sessions, volunteers completed an endurance test at a high percentage of their maximal aerobic power and time to exhaustion was measured. Respiratory and pain parameters were also monitored. The preceding eve…

Physical and Psychological Effectiveness of Cardiac Rehabilitation: Age Is Not a Limiting Factor!

There is little data regarding the impact of patient age on the physical and psychological effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The aim of the present study was therefore to compare the effects of an exercise-based CR program on physical and psychological parameters in young, old, and very old patients. We also aimed to identify the features that best predicted CR outcome.A total of 733 patients were divided into 3 subgroups: YOUNG (65 years old), OLD (between 65 and 80 years old), and VERY OLD (≥ 80 years old). Physical variables such as peak workload and estimated peak VOPerformance in all tests and scores for all questionnaires were significantly improved in all patients (P0.05)…

Effects of a one-year exercise training program in adults over 70 years old: a study with a control group

Background and aims: Exercise training is known to improve exercise tolerance in elderly subjects. Therefore the present study aimed at investigating the effects of one year of combined endurance and resistance training in healthy older people. Methods: After baseline evaluation, subjects were assigned to either the training group (n=24, age 77.2±3.6) or the control group (n=16, age 76.1±4.8). Subjects in the control group did not change anything in their everyday activities, whereas subjects in the training group underwent moderately intensive combined exercise training, 3 hours a week over the course of one year. Breath-by-breath oxygen uptake and heart rate were measured at each workload…