The purpose of this research was to determine cardiorespiratory changes in "complete" paraplegics following unassisted leg cycle training. One male (47 yr.) and one female (24 yr.) with complete loss of sensory and voluntary motor control below the T2 and T11 levels (ASIA class A), respectively, were studied. After 2 learning sessions on an energy-storage ergo meter (Psycle®), subjects could pedal voluntarily. Each subject performed continuous leg cycle exercise 30 to 95 min, 3 days per week for 12 weeks. Leg cycling power improved 202% from 4.3 to 13.0 W for the male and 57% from 5.6 to 8.8 W for the female. Improvements in the male and female included peak oxygen uptake (20% from 1.2 to 1.5 L.min-1, and 110% from .6 to 1.3 L.min-1, respectively), ventilation (33% from 32.9 to 43.7 L.min-1, and 45% from 30.3 to 44.0 L.min-1, respectively), and cardiac output measured by acetylene rebreathing (Qc), (28% from 9.6 to 12.3 L.min-1, and 26% from 9.5 to 12.0 L.min-1, respectively). The increased Qc in the T2 male was mediated by a 32% increase in heart rate (HR) from 105 to 139 b.min-1, as stroke volume (SV) remained constant at 90 ml.beat-1. The increased Qc in the T11 female occurred as a result of 5% increase in HR (from 160 to 168 b.min-1) and an increase in SV of 19% from 60 to 71 ml.beat-1 following training. The post-training HR's represented 80% and 86%, respectively, of the age-adjusted maximum heart rates of able-bodied persons. Our findings indicate that "complete" paraplegics can increase cardiorespiratory function following a training program of unassisted leg cycling.

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