Reduced physical activity is a primary risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality, People with spinal cord injury (SCI) have reduced activity for a lifetime, as they cannot volitionally activate affected skeletal muscles. We explored whether low force and low frequency stimulation is a viable strategy to enhance systemic energy expenditure in people with SCI.
To determine the effects of low stimulation frequency (1 Hz, 3 Hz) and stimulation intensity (50 mA and 100 mA) on energy expenditure in people with SCI. We also examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) on energy expenditure during low frequency stimulation.
Ten individuals with complete SCI underwent oxygen consumption monitoring during electrical activation of the quadriceps and hamstrings at 1 Hz and 3 Hz and at 50 and 100 mA. We calculated the difference in energy expenditure between stimulation and rest and estimated the number of days that would be necessary to burn 1 pound of body fat (3,500 kcal) for each stimulation protocol (1 Hz versus 3 Hz).
Both training frequencies induced a significant increase in oxygen consumption above a resting baseline level (p < 0.05). Energy expenditure positively correlated with stimulus intensity (muscle recruitment) and negatively correlated with adiposity (reflecting the insulating properties of adipose tissue). We estimated that 1 pound of body fat could be burned more quickly with 1 Hz training (58 days) as compared to 3 Hz training (87 days) if an identical number of pulses were delivered.
Low-frequency stimulation increased energy expenditure per pulse and may be a feasible option to subsidize physical activity to improve metabolic status after SCI.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 6. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 30 May 2022.
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Altmetric has tracked 34,745,622 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 73rd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 8,785 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 26.0. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 52% of its peers.
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