FESC in acute SCI v.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Functional electrical stimulation cycling in acute spinal cord injury; a feasibility study
IRAS ID
261838
Contact name
Aleksandra Dybus
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating, life-altering injury; requiring tremendous changes in an individual’s lifestyle. Cycling, provides an ideal way for individuals with SCI to exercise and address the long-term consequences of SCI by targeting the lower extremity muscles. Cycling with the addition of functional electrical stimulation (FES) allows persons with paralysis to exercise their paretic or paralysed leg muscles (Crameri et al. 2002). A preliminary search showed that in adults with complete SCI, FES cycling led to improvements in muscle cross-sectional area, lean body mass, voluntary and electrically induced muscle force (Scremin et al. 1999; Griffin et al. 2009) and exercise performance. The Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit (QENSIU) is equipped with an FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) cycling system. This system can electrically stimulate paralysed muscles to propel a stationary bike or a recumbent cycle with training. Some research into the FES cycling system found that it has a positive influence on spasticity, walking ability and muscular reactivation, however, no previous studies have reported functional outcomes of FES cycling in the acute spinal cord injured population. We will be investigating the effects of FES assisted cycling on balance, walking and muscle strength of people injured within the last few months. We aim to recruit 12 participants within the Unit, they will be randomly allocated to one of two groups. The intervention group will be provided with a Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) cycling programme in addition to usual care three times per week for 6 weeks. Assessments will be carried out over a 12 week period.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
19/WS/0061
Date of REC Opinion
4 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion