Effect of Handcycling on Cardiopulmonary System of Tetraplegics as A Result of Spinal Cord Injury - Abstract
Design of the study: Pre-post, uncontrolled, longitudinal study of exercise training in persons with tetraplegia
Objective: To evaluate the effects of handcycling training on heart rate variability, pulmonary function, and respiratory muscle strength in tetraplegic people, as a result of spinal cord injury.
Location: Rehabilitation center, Faculty of Health Sciences, UNIVAP, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil
Methods: Seven tetraplegics (with C6 to C7 injury, men, age 28.00 ± 6.97 years, and body mass index of 22.13 ± 5.18 kg/m²) underwent handcycling training for three months. Heart rate variability, spirometry, and manometer were assessed before and after the training period.
Results: For the heart rate variability, only low frequency/high frequency (Wavelet) post-training decreased, going from 5.17 ± 0.75 to 3.29 ± 0.70 (p = 0:02). There were no significant differences for the spirometric parameters evaluated. The maximum inspiratory pressure increased from 74.28 ± 14.84 to 101.42 ± 21.35 cmH2O (p = 0.01), and the maximal expiratory pressure increased from 72.85 ± 84.28 ± 21.38 to 17.18 cmH2O (p = 0.04).
Conclusion: Handcycling practice promoted positive effects on the cardiopulmonary system of tetraplegic patients with decreased low frequency/high frequency and improved their respiratory muscle strength.