OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether reporting blood redistribution by means of graduated elastic stockings affects exercise and postexercise responses in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN: Crossover trial. SETTING: Physical medicine and rehabilitation department in France. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen men with traumatic SCI, grouped according to their level of injury. INTERVENTIONS: Subjects performed 2 maximal wheelchair exercise tests 1 week apart, in random order and under a counter-balanced design. One test was done with and the other without graduated elastic stockings (21 mmHg). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Blood lactate, blood pressure, heart rate, maximal power output, and oxygen consumption (VO2). RESULTS: Postexercise venous lactate concentration was reduced in SCI subjects with lesion levels below T6 while wearing graduated elastic stockings during both exercise and recovery (10.9 +/- 3.9mmol/L versus 12.5 +/- 4.6mmol/L, p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in submaximal and maximal values (heart rate, VO2, power output) between subjects tested with and without graduated elastic stockings. CONCLUSIONS: Wearing elastic stockings affects postexercise responses by decreasing lactate concentration in well-trained, low-level paraplegic patients after a maximal exercise. The relatively low pressure generated by the stockings may not, however, influence the venous system enough to produce improved performance and cardiovascular responses.

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