Prevention of orthostatic hypotension with electric stimulation in persons with acute spinal cord injury

Abstract

The impact of three different types of electric stimulation (ES) (ES of the abdominal muscles versus ES of lower limb muscles versus simultaneously ES of abdominal and lower limb muscles versus control) on blood pressure stabilization and verticalisation-degrees between 0° and 70° in nine patients with acute spinal cord injury positioned in a tilt-table was investigated. Data analysis revealed that blood pressure did not differ significantly between the types of ES and the control at any verticalisation- degree (p>0.05). Although statistical significance was missed, a clear tendency towards a stabilization of blood pressure using any type of ES up to a verticalisation- degree of thirty was found. © 2013 by Walter de Gruyter.