Effects of Graduated Compression Stockings on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Responses to Exercise and Exercise Recovery in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract Rimaud D, Calmels P, Roche F, Mongold J-J, Trudeau F, Devillard X. Effects of graduated compression stockings on cardiovascular and metabolic responses to exercise and exercise recovery in persons with spinal cord injury. Objective To investigate whether reporting blood redistribution by means of graduated elastic stockings affects exercise and postexercise responses in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design Crossover trial. Setting Physical medicine and rehabilitation department in France. Participants Fourteen men with traumatic SCI, grouped according to their level of injury. Interventions Subjects performed 2 maximal wheelchair exercise tests 1 week apart, in random order and under a counter-balanced design. One test was done with and the other without graduated elastic stockings (21mmHg). Main Outcome Measures Blood lactate, blood pressure, heart rate, maximal power output, and oxygen consumption (V̇o2 ). Results Postexercise venous lactate concentration was reduced in SCI subjects with lesion levels below T6 while wearing graduated elastic stockings during both exercise and recovery (10.9±3.9mmol/L vs 12.5±4.6mmol/L, P