Sprint Interval Training During Rehabilitation After Spinal Cord Injury

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Other: Sprint interval training
Other: moderate intensity continuous training

Brief Summary: Immediately following a spinal cord injury (SCI), patients are admitted to inpatient rehabilitation where they undergo physical reconditioning in preparation for a return to home setting. The current standard of practice for aerobic training is performing arm-ergometry for 25 mins at a frequency of three times per week. Given the move towards shortened length of stay during inpatient rehabilitation, performing MICT can consume a considerable amount of therapy time. Sprint interval training (SIT) has been shown to elicit similar improvements in physical capacity, despite a reduced time commitment to MICT. However, there are no controlled trials comparing the effects of SIT to MICT in individuals with SCI undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a five-week, thrice weekly 10 min SIT program and compare outcome measures to a traditional 25 minute MICT program on the arm-ergometer in individuals with SCI undergoing inpatient clinical rehabilitation. It was hypothesized that five weeks of SIT and MICT would induce similar changes in maximal and sub-maximal exercise performance, self-efficacy for exercise, and exercise enjoyment, despite large differences in training volume and time commitment. It was also hypothesized that SIT would be well tolerated and elicit higher levels of cardiovascular strain than MICT.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Participants with sub-acute spinal cord injury (time since injury: 14 - 182 days)
Undergoing inpatient rehabilitation
Aged 18-65 years
Injury level at the second cervical vertebrae (C2) or below

Exclusion Criteria

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Sprint Interval Training	Sprint interval training	The SIT protocol was adopted from Gillen and colleagues (See Ref), and consisted of 3 x 20 second "all-out" efforts at ≥ 100% of an individuals peak power output. Each sprint was interspersed by 120 seconds of active recovery at 10% of an individuals peak power output. Total training duration was 10 mins.
Moderate Intensity Continuous Training	moderate intensity continuous training	Training was performed three times a week for five weeks. Each session began with a 2 minute warm up, and concluded with a 3 minute cool down. Following the warm-up, participants performed 20 minutes of arm cycling at a self-selected cadence at 45-65% of their peak power output. Total training duration was 25 mins.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in peak power output	Change in peak power output from baseline to 5 weeks	maximum amount of power produced during a graded exercise test on the arm-ergometer
Change in sub-maximal arm-ergometry	Change in sub-maximal arm-ergometry from baseline to 5 weeks	Participants performed three 5-minute steady state workloads on the arm-ergometer at power outputs corresponding to RPE's of 8, 10 and 12. Participants were given a minimum of 2 minutes, and a maximum of 5 minutes of rest in between each workload.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Cardiovascular Responses	Throughout each week of training (Week 1,Week 2, Week 3, Week4, Week 5)	Monitored heart rate throughout each training session
Perceptual Responses	Throughout each week of training (Week 1,Week 2, Week 3, Week4, Week 5)	Monitored ratings of perceived exertion throughout each training session
Change in self-efficacy for exercise	Change in self-efficacy from baseline to 5 weeks	Using a self-reported questionnaire, participants rated how confident they are with regards to performing and carrying out regular physical activities and exercises.
Exercise Satisfaction	Measured only at the end of the intervention (5 weeks)	Participants completed the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) in order to asses the level of enjoyment with the training intervention they received.
Pain perceptions	Measured only at the end of the intervention (5 weeks)	Through a questionnaire, participants rated how much shoulder pain, bodily pain, and physical discomfort they typically experience throughout the day and how much pain they experienced with the intervention they were allocated to.