Participate in STIMEX-SCI
How to get involved
Individuals must meet the following criteria to be eligible to take part:
- Male or female at least 16 years of age
- Chronic SCI (at least 1-year post-injury)
- Motor-complete SCI (American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale Grade A or B)
- SCI between C5-T6
- English speaking
- Can move arms/hands voluntarily without the need of support
Please see Page 4 of the Participant information sheet to read the full eligibility criteria.
What is involved?
This project is formed of two parts: AIM 1 and AIM 2. Participants can choose to take part in AIM 1 only if they do not want to take part in AIM 2.
AIM 1
AIM 1
AIM 1 lasts 3 weeks with a total time commitment of approx. 11.5 hours, split across 5 assessment visits.
A stimulation mapping session, recordings of your heart rate and blood pressure responses to a series of tests, as well as an arm-crank fitness test. Participants will then perform arm-crank exercise trials to exhaustion (approx. 30 - 40 minutes), with and without stimulation. Blood samples will be taken before and after exercise.
AIM 2
AIM 2
AIM 2 lasts 9 weeks plus a 6-week follow-up period with a total time commitment of approx. 34 hours. This consists of 16 exercise sessions (2 sessions per week for 8 weeks) and 6 assessment visits.
All assessments are completed before and after the exercise intervention. These include blood sampling, cardiovascular health, cognitive function, and balance assessments. Participants will also be asked if they’d like to answer some questionnaires on their pain, bowel, bladder and sexual function. They will wear an activity monitor on their chest for 3 days to monitor physical activity and heart rate, A blood pressure cuff will also be worn for a 24-hour period. Following the intervention, the same heart rate and blood pressure responses tests performed in AIM 1 will be completed.
The exercise intervention will consist of two arm-crank exercise sessions per week for eight weeks. Participants will be randomised into two groups: one exercising with cardiovascular-optimised stimulation and the other exercising with a sham/control stimulation. These sessions will last approx. 48 minutes, consisting of 10 bouts of 3-min high intensity followed by 2-min low intensity upper-body arm crank exercise.
What are the benefits of taking part?
- Participants are eligible to receive £40 per assessment visit and £200 for completing the exercise intervention.
- Completing all assessment visits and exercise intervention sessions will earn participants a total of £640.
To find out about getting involved (or if you would like to be kept informed about similar studies), please compete the form below. The Participant Information sheet also has more information on the specific visits and assessments.