Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Observational
Official Title: Finding the Optimal Voluntary Exercise Parameters for Generating a Health Benefit in Those Living With Quadriplegia
Brief Summary: There are over 44,000 persons living with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Canada, who face substantial challenges in maintaining a healthy body composition after injury. As a result, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are prevalent in this population. Guidelines indicating that twice weekly 20-minute sessions of exercise (plus resistance training) will increase physical fitness in those with SCI have been recently published. However, no SCI-specific guidelines indicating the volume of exercise to reduce the risk of developing obesity-related diseases exist. Longitudinal studies indicate that a weekly exercise-related energy expenditure of 2000 - 2500 Calories is correlated with the least likelihood of cardiovascular disease in the able-bodied population. There is little information regarding energy expenditure (EE) for activities carried out by persons with SCI, with less available for persons with tetraplegia. Once known, this EE data can be used to develop exercise interventions to determine the volume of voluntary exercise required to reduce obesity and risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in those living with tetraplegia.