Exercise testing using upper extremity ergometry in pediatric spinal cord injury.

PURPOSE: To describe an upper extremity ergometer test for children with spinal cord injury (SCI) and examine differences based on injury level for peak heart rate (HR peak), oxygen uptake (VO 2 peak/kg), and peak power output per kilogram (W peak/kg). METHODS: Twenty-nine children with motor complete SCI participated. Nine had low cervical (C7, C8), 9 had upper thoracic (T1-T4), and 11 had mid/low thoracic (T5-T11) SCI. HR peak, VO2 peak/kg, and W peak/kg were compared based on these 3 injury level groupings. RESULTS: HR peak (p = 0.013), VO 2 peak/kg (p = 0.041), and W peak/kg (p = 0.001) differed between groups. The mid/low thoracic group had the highest values for each variable. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in HR peak, VO 2 peak/kg, and W peak/kg were consistent with exercise effects reported for adults with SCI. Further research is needed to develop an appropriate standardized ergometric test for children with SCI.