Relationship of Spinal Cord Injury Level and Duration to Peak Aerobic Capacity With Arms-Only and Hybrid Functional Electrical Stimulation Rowing.

The study included only 24 young adults, aged 22 to 35 years, with adult onset spinal cord injury, so it may not apply to people outside this age range or with injury from childhood. Participants were excluded if they used cardioactive drugs or had cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, diabetes, other neurological disorders, pressure injuries, or other contraindications to vigorous exercise, so the findings may not apply to people with common SCI comorbidities. Two-thirds of the sample was less than 2 years post injury, so people with long-standing injury were less represented. The study measured peak aerobic capacity during exercise tests after about 5 weeks of supervised FES familiarization, not long-term training outcomes, daily function, or health complications. Only two people had AIS C motor incomplete injury, so the study could not determine whether injury completeness changes the response. The leg strengthening device used in the protocol was not FDA approved. Peak heart rate increased with FES-rowing in 15 of 24 people, but the overall difference was not statistically significant, so heart rate response is less certain.

The paper is tagged as NIH extramural research support. No author conflict declaration is included in the supplied text.

Do not conclude that FES-rowing is a proven training intervention for improving health outcomes. This study measured peak aerobic capacity after supervised familiarization in 24 young adults, and the leg-strengthening device used was not FDA approved. The 20.8% higher VO2 peak is an acute test difference, not evidence of improved daily function.