Upper-limb exercise in tetraplegia using functional electrical stimulation

Hunt, K.J., McLean, A.N., Coupaud, S. and Gollee, H. (2003) Upper-limb exercise in tetraplegia using functional electrical stimulation. Advances in Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, 3(5), pp. 24-25.

Abstract

Cervical spinal cord injury can result in dysfunction in both the lower and upper limbs (tetraplegia), andmay be accompanied by a range of secondary complications. The degree of upper-limb dysfunctiondepends upon the level and completeness of the lesion; in this paper we consider tetraplegics with a neurological level in the range C4-C6. A person with a C5- or C6-level injury will generally retain control of the shoulder and elbow flexor muscles biceps), but will have no control of the hand, wrist or elbow extensors (triceps).With a complete C4 injury voluntary control of the entire arm is lost. Thus, we propose that functional electrical stimulation (FES) of the biceps and triceps muscles may enhance the efficacy of cyclical upper-limb exercise. Alternatives for partial restoration of function include tendon transfer surgery or mechanical orthoses1. Previous FES research for C4-C6 tetraplegics has focused on systems for hand function2,3 and improved working area (i.e. overhead reach)4,5,6,7, but the provision of upper-limb exercise modalities using FES assistance has been neglected. This is important because the lack of effective exercise can lead rapidly to severe cardiopulmonary deconditioning in this population.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hunt, Prof Kenneth and Gollee, Dr Henrik and Coupaud, Dr Sylvie
• Authors: Hunt, K.J., McLean, A.N., Coupaud, S., and Gollee, H.
• Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General); R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Advances in Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation
• Publisher: ACNR
• ISSN: 1473-9348
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2003 ACNR
• First Published: First published in Advances in clinical neuroscience and rehabilitation 3(5):24-25
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced with the permission of the publisher