Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Experimental Protocol of a Three-minute, All-out Arm Crank Exercise Test in Spinal-cord Injured and Able-bodied Individuals
Published on: June 8, 2017
Cardiorespiratory responses to arm cranking and electrical stimulation leg cycling in people with paraplegia
J Raymond1, G M Davis, M Climstein
1Rehabilitation Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Australia.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to assess the cardiorespiratory responses during arm exercise with and without concurrent electrical stimulation-induced leg cycling in people with paraplegia.
Methods:
On separate days, 10 subjects with spinal cord injuries (T5-T12) performed either arm cranking (ACE), or simultaneous arm cranking + electrical stimulation-induced leg cycling (ACE+ES-LCE) graded exercise tests.
Results:
During submaximal, steady-state exercise, ACE+ES-LCE elicited significantly higher VO2, (by 0.25-0.28 L x min(-1)) stroke volume (by 13 mL), and VE(BTPS) (by 9.4 L x min(-1)) compared with ACE alone. In contrast, there were no significant differences of submaximal HR, cardiac output, or power output between the exercise modes. At maximal exercise, ACE+ES-LCE elicited significantly higher VO2 (by 0.23 L x min(-1)) compared with ACE alone, but there were no differences in power output, HR, or VE(BTPS).
Conclusions:
These results demonstrate that during submaximal or maximal exercise there was a greater metabolic stress elicited during ACE+ES-LCE compared with during ACE alone. The higher stroke volume observed during submaximal ACE+ES-LCE, in the absence of any difference in HR, implied a reduced venous pooling and higher cardiac volume loading during ACE+ES-LCE. These results suggest that training incorporating ACE+ES-LCE may be more effective in improving aerobic fitness in people with paraplegia than ACE alone.
