TELEHEALTH HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL EXERCISE AND CARDIOMETABOLIC HEALTH IN SPINAL CORD INJURY TELEHEALTH HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL EXERCISE AND CARDIOMETABOLIC HEALTH IN SPINAL CORD INJURY

Authors

Andrew Tyler, The University of Alabama at BirminghamFollow
Aviya Khan, The University of Alabama at BirminghamFollow
Jacob Adams, The University of Alabama at BirminghamFollow
Byron Lai, The University of Alabama at BirminghamFollow
James Rimmer, The University of Alabama at BirminghamFollow
Danielle Powell, The University of Alabama at BirminghamFollow
Robert Oster, The University of Alabama at BirminghamFollow
Gordon Fisher FACSM, The University of Alabama at BirminghamFollow

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that high intensity interval training (HIIT) can improve cardiometabolic health in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Individuals with SCI experience a number of barriers when participating in exercise; such as lack of time, accessible equipment and facilities, and transportation. It is imperative to identify modes of exercise that can promote adherence and improve cardiometabolic health while requiring low time commitment. Studies have demonstrated that HIIT can provide similar improvements in cardiometabolic health while only requiring 20% of the overall total time commitment compared to prolonged moderate intensity exercise (MIT) in non-disabled individuals. More recently, telehealth interventions have been shown to increase accessibility to exercise participation. Thus, the purpose of this study is to assess the changes in cardiometabolic and physical health following 16-weeks of home-based telehealth HIIT arm crank exercise in individuals with SCI. METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to 16 weeks of HIIT arm crank exercise training or a no-exercise control group. Body composition, resting energy expenditure (REE), blood lipids, insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, aerobic capacity (VO2 max), and muscular strength and endurance were assessed at baseline and at 16 weeks post intervention. RESULTS: Eight participants (5 male, 3 female; n=3 in control, n=5 in HIIT exercise; mean age 52.7 ± 10.2) with longstanding SCI completed the study. Due to the small samples size we were not able to assess statistical changes between groups, however there were clinically meaningful improvements in resting energy expenditure (11.6%), VO2max (17.2%) and insulin sensitivity (50%) following completion of the telehealth HIIT program. CONCLUSION: This study showed improvements in resting energy expenditure, VO2 max, and insulin sensitivity following 16-weeks of telehealth arm crank HIIT exercise. We were able to demonstrate that a home based HIIT program could be delivered safely, led to high adherence, was well tolerated, and improved cardiometabolic health in individuals with SCI.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This study is supported by the National Institute of Health, National Institute of Nursing Research (R21NR019309) (PI: G. Fisher)

Recommended Citation

Tyler, Andrew; Khan, Aviya; Adams, Jacob; Lai, Byron; Rimmer, James; Powell, Danielle; Oster, Robert; and Fisher, Gordon FACSM (2024) "TELEHEALTH HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL EXERCISE AND CARDIOMETABOLIC HEALTH IN SPINAL CORD INJURY TELEHEALTH HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL EXERCISE AND CARDIOMETABOLIC HEALTH IN SPINAL CORD INJURY," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 16: Iss. 3, Article 207.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol16/iss3/207