Spinal Cord Injuries
Conditions
Keywords
Functional electrical stimulation
Brief summary
The main aim of this study is to investigate the effect of patterned distribution stimulation compared to conventional stimulation in reducing muscle fatigue during functional electrical stimulation (FES) following spinal cord injury (SCI).
Detailed description
Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a commonly used technique in rehabilitation and often associated with rapid muscle fatigue which becomes the limiting factor in its applications. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects on the onset of fatigue of conventional synchronous stimulation, as well as asynchronous stimulation that mimic voluntary muscle activation targeting different motor units which are activated sequentially or randomly via multiple pairs of stimulation electrodes. Three different approaches with various electrode configurations will be investigated, as well as different patterns of stimulation applied to the gastrocnemius muscle. In addition, the muscle changes during different patterns of stimulation will be evaluated in this study.
Interventions
PROCEDURECSS/AsynS
16 sessions of training over a 4 week period consisting of repeated intermittent electrical stimulation (300ms On and 700ms Off stimulation) for 10 - 30 minutes. Conventional synchronous stimulation (CSS) on one leg; Asynchronous Sequential Stimulation (ASynS) on the other leg
PROCEDURECSS/AsynR
16 sessions of training over a 4 week period consisting of repeated intermittent electrical stimulation (300ms On and 700ms Off stimulation) for 10 - 30 minutes. Conventional synchronous stimulation (CSS) on one leg; Asynchronous Random Stimulation (ASynR) on the other leg.
Sponsors
University of Glasgow
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* incomplete spinal cord injury * able to give informed consent * able to sit up in a chair
Exclusion criteria
* female subjects who are pregnant * significant history of autonomic dysreflexia * unable to give informed consent * individuals who have a cardiac history * individuals who have significant cognitive impairment * individuals with muscular abnormality * individuals who have significant contractures in the lower extremities * individuals who have a rash or infection at the site of electrode placement (gastrocnemius for both legs) * individuals who are hypersensitive to electrical stimulation * individuals who are presently involved in another study which has overlap with the methodology and/or outcomes of the studies
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle contraction ability | Baseline to 6 weeks | Change in torque produced during muscle contraction |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Normalized Fatigue Index (NFI) | Baseline to 6 weeks | Change in score on Normalized Fatigue Index (NFI) |
| Fatigue Time Interval (FTI) | Baseline to 6 weeks | Change in Fatigue Time Interval (FTI) |
| Twitch-Tetanus Ratio response (ΔTTR) | Baseline to 6 weeks | Change in Twitch-Tetanus Ratio response (ΔTTR) |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed