Ergogenic effects of spinal cord stimulation on exercise performance following spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to cardiovascular issues during exercise due to disrupted nerve signals. This study explores whether spinal cord stimulation (SCS) can improve exercise performance in individuals with SCI. The study compared two types of SCS: epidural (ESCS, invasive) and transcutaneous (TSCS, non-invasive), against sham conditions to see their impact on cardiovascular responses and upper-body exercise performance in SCI patients. The findings suggest that both ESCS and TSCS can improve blood pressure and cardiac function, leading to enhanced exercise performance in individuals with SCI, offering potential as ergogenic aids and fatigue reduction during daily activities.

• 1
  CV-SCS increased blood pressure and predicted left ventricular cardiac contractility and total peripheral resistance at rest.
• 2
  During exercise, CV-SCS increased time to exhaustion and peak oxygen pulse (a surrogate for stroke volume), relative to SHAM-SCS.
• 3
  Ratings of perceived exertion also tended to be lower with CV-SCS than SHAM-SCS.