Effects of 16-Form Wheelchair Tai Chi on the Autonomic Nervous System among Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Objective. This study aims to investigate the effects of 16-form Wheelchair Tai Chi (WCTC16) on the autonomic nervous system among patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods. Twenty patients with chronic complete thoracic SCI were recruited. Equivital life monitoring system was used to record and analyze heart rate variability (HRV) of patients for five minutes before and after five consecutive sets of WCTC16, respectively. The analysis of HRV in the time domain included RR intervals, the standard deviation of all normal RR intervals (SDNN), and the root mean square of the differences between adjacent NN intervals (RMSSD). The analysis of HRV in the frequency domain included total power (TP), which could be divided into very-low-frequency area (VLFP), low-frequency area (LFP), and high-frequency area (HFP). The LF/HF ratio as well as the normalized units of LFP (LFPnu) and HFP (HFPnu) reflected the sympathovagal balance. Results. There was no significant difference in RR interval, SDNN, RMSSD, TP, HEP, VLFP, and LFP of SCI patients before and after WCTC16 exercise ( P > 0.05 ). LFPnu and HF peak decreased, while HFPnu and LF/HF increased in SCI patients after WCTC16 exercise. The differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.001 ). Conclusion. WCTC16 can enhance vagal activity and decrease sympathetic activity so that patients with chronic complete thoracic SCI can achieve the balanced sympathovagal tone.

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Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction Following Spinal Cord Injury: Cardiovascular, Cerebrovascular, and Thermoregulatory Effects

Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports ◽

10.1007/s40141-015-0093-2 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 197-205 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jill M. Wecht ◽

Michael F. La Fountaine ◽

John P. Handrakis ◽

Christopher R. West ◽

Aaron Phillips ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spinal Cord ◽

Spinal Cord Injury ◽

Nervous System ◽

Autonomic Nervous System ◽

Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction ◽

Autonomic Nervous ◽

Cord Injury

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Leptin response to short-term fasting in sympathectomized men: role of the SNS

AJP Endocrinology and Metabolism ◽

10.1152/ajpendo.00302.2002 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 284 (3) ◽

pp. E634-E640 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Justin Y. Jeon ◽

Vicki J. Harber ◽

Robert D. Steadward

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Spinal Cord ◽

Spinal Cord Injury ◽

Nervous System ◽

Short Term ◽

Cord Injury ◽

Before And After ◽

Sympathetic Nervous ◽

Plasma Leptin

We studied plasma leptin levels in six people with high-lesion spinal cord injury [SCI; body mass index (BMI) 25.9 ± 1.5 kg/m2, age 37 ± 3.0 yr] and six able-bodied (AB) controls (BMI 29.1 ± 1.9 kg/m2, age 35 ± 3.5 yr) before and after 12, 24, and 36 h of fasting. The plasma leptin levels significantly decreased during 36 h fasting by 48.8 ± 4.5% (pre: 11.3 ± 2.3, post: 6.2 ± 1.5 ng/ml) and 38.6 ± 7.9% (pre: 7.6 ± 5.0, post: 4.2 ± 1.0 ng/ml) in SCI and AB, respectively. Plasma leptin started to decrease at 24 h of fasting in the SCI group, whereas plasma leptin started to decrease at 12 h of fasting in the AB group. The current study demonstrated that plasma leptin decreased with fasting in both SCI and AB groups, with the leptin decrease being delayed in the SCI group. The delayed leptin response to fasting in the SCI group may be because of increased fat mass (%body fat, SCI: 33.8 ± 3.0, AB: 24.1 ± 2.9) and sympathetic nervous system dysfunction.

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