MUSCULOSKELETAL PLASTICITY AFTER SPINAL CORD INJURY

描述（改编自研究者摘要）：继发性肌肉骨骼 瘫痪后的并发症增加了人类的痛苦， 生活质量，以及社会的医疗保健成本。骨骼肌 脊髓损伤后变得非常疲劳，这限制了其功能 用于站立、抓握或走动，并伴有电刺激。 与肌肉疲劳相关的是骨密度的严重损失。长期 该项目的目标是为个人制定锻炼指南 以防止肌肉骨骼系统的继发性变化。 这个项目将描述瘫痪后肌肉骨骼的变化，测试a 方法，以积极负荷肌肉骨骼系统急性，并建立，如果 该方法有效地预防或逆转肌肉骨骼变化， 瘫痪后该项目的具体目标是：1）确定是否 慢性瘫痪的肌肉可以产生更高的扭矩更长的时间， 在自适应反馈控制下刺激肌肉， 恒定频率开环刺激; 2）确定生理 比目鱼肌的特性，从两个下肢的个人与 急性和慢性瘫痪之前，期间和之后6个月的训练， 单侧比目鱼肌; 3）胫骨骨密度测定 和股骨在两个下肢的个人与急性和慢性 瘫痪之前，期间和之后6个月行使单边 比目鱼肌该项目将提供有关 瘫痪后肌肉骨骼系统的可塑性。这样做的好处 新开发的自适应反馈控制练习可以提供一个标准 瘫痪的人可能会用它来维持他们的 瘫痪后的肌肉骨骼特性。

DESCRIPTION (adapted from Investigator's abstract): Secondary musculoskeletal complications following paralysis cause increased human suffering, impaired quality of life, and extended health care costs to society. Skeletal muscle becomes highly fatigable after spinal cord injury, which limits its functional use for standing, grasping, or ambulating with electrical stimulation. Associated with muscle fatigue is a severe loss of bone density. The long term objective of this project is to establish exercise guidelines for individuals with paralysis to prevent the secondary changes to the musculoskeletal system. This project will describe the musculoskeletal changes after paralysis, test a method to actively load the musculoskeletal system acutely, and establish if the method is effective at preventing or reversing the musculoskeletal changes after paralysis. The specific aims of the project are to: 1) determine if chronically paralyzed muscle can produce higher torques for longer times by stimulating the muscle under adaptive feedback control when compared to constant frequency open loop stimulation; 2) determine the physiological properties of the soleus muscle from both lower extremities in individuals with acute and chronic paralysis before, during, and after 6 months of training the unilateral soleus muscle; 3) determine the bone mineral density of the tibia and femur in both lower extremities of individuals with acute and chromic paralysis before, during, and after 6 months of exercising the unilateral soleus muscle. This project will provide empirical evidence about the plasticity of the musculoskeletal system after paralysis. The benefits of this newly developed adaptive feedback controlled exercise may provide a standard that individuals with paralysis may use in an effort to maintain their musculoskeletal properties following paralysis.