Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) can increase leg blood flow (BF) in able-bodied persons. Whether IPC can alter leg BF, and improve vascular function in people with SCI is currently unknown. PURPOSE: Test the hypothesis that acute IPC will increase leg BF, and improve vascular function in SCI. METHODS: Participants (n=8; injury level: T3 and below; A.S.I.A. class A-C; age: 41±17 yrs) were recruited for a 1-hour IPC session performed in one leg (experimental leg; EXP), with the other serving as a control (CON). IPC consisted of sequential, foot-to-calf compressions (4-s inflate, 16-s deflate; 3 compressions/min). Posterior-tibial artery BF (Doppler-ultrasound) was examined at rest, and at 15 and 45 mins of IPC. Vascular function was assessed using the flow-mediated dilation approach (FMD), before and after IPC. RESULTS: Resting posterior-tibial artery diameter, BF, FMD% and FMD normalized to shear area-under-curve (FMD%/AUC) were similar between legs at rest. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA (leg x time) revealed that during IPC, BF tended to increase (P=0.063) in EXP leg (8±2 to 11±3 mL/min at 15 mins; +42±23%), with no change occurring in the CON leg (9±4 to10±5 mL/min at 15 mins). No main effects were noted for FMD following IPC; however, 7 of 8 subjects demonstrated increases in FMD%/AUC for EXP leg (+89±55% improvement; P=0.095, d= 0.362). CONCLUSION: Though no statistical difference was found, there were notable effect sizes reported, thus giving the study further explanation of merit.
","abstract_html":"<p>Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) can increase leg blood flow (BF) in able-bodied persons. Whether IPC can alter leg BF, and improve vascular function in people with SCI is currently unknown. <strong>PURPOSE:</strong> Test the hypothesis that acute IPC will increase leg BF, and improve vascular function in SCI. <strong>METHODS:</strong> Participants (n=8; injury level: T3 and below; A.S.I.A. class A-C; age: 41±17 yrs) were recruited for a 1-hour IPC session performed in one leg (experimental leg; EXP), with the other serving as a control (CON). IPC consisted of sequential, foot-to-calf compressions (4-s inflate, 16-s deflate; 3 compressions/min). Posterior-tibial artery BF (Doppler-ultrasound) was examined at rest, and at 15 and 45 mins of IPC. Vascular function was assessed using the flow-mediated dilation approach (FMD), before and after IPC. <strong>RESULTS: </strong>Resting posterior-tibial artery diameter, BF, FMD% and FMD normalized to shear area-under-curve (FMD%/AUC) were similar between legs at rest. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA (leg x time) revealed that during IPC, BF tended to increase (P=0.063) in EXP leg (8±2 to 11±3 mL/min at 15 mins; +42±23%), with no change occurring in the CON leg (9±4 to10±5 mL/min at 15 mins). No main effects were noted for FMD following IPC; however, 7 of 8 subjects demonstrated increases in FMD%/AUC for EXP leg (+89±55% improvement; P=0.095, d= 0.362). <strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> Though no statistical difference was found, there were notable effect sizes reported, thus giving the study further explanation of merit.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cialdella, Lena Marie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Kinesiology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Daniel Credeur","Scott Piland","David Dolbow"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:34Z","subjects":["IPC","SCI","Vascular Function","Blood Flow","Spinal Cord Injury","Exercise Science","Kinesiology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/179","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Daniel Credeur","Scott Piland","David Dolbow"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cialdella, Lena Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Kinesiology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["IPC","SCI","Vascular Function","Blood Flow","Spinal Cord Injury","Exercise Science","Kinesiology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/179"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) can increase leg blood flow (BF) in able-bodied persons. Whether IPC can alter leg BF, and improve vascular function in people with SCI is currently unknown. PURPOSE: Test the hypothesis that acute IPC will increase leg BF, and improve vascular function in SCI. METHODS: Participants (n=8; injury level: T3 and below; A.S.I.A. class A-C; age: 41±17 yrs) were recruited for a 1-hour IPC session performed in one leg (experimental leg; EXP), with the other serving as a control (CON). IPC consisted of sequential, foot-to-calf compressions (4-s inflate, 16-s deflate; 3 compressions/min). Posterior-tibial artery BF (Doppler-ultrasound) was examined at rest, and at 15 and 45 mins of IPC. Vascular function was assessed using the flow-mediated dilation approach (FMD), before and after IPC. RESULTS: Resting posterior-tibial artery diameter, BF, FMD% and FMD normalized to shear area-under-curve (FMD%/AUC) were similar between legs at rest. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA (leg x time) revealed that during IPC, BF tended to increase (P=0.063) in EXP leg (8±2 to 11±3 mL/min at 15 mins; +42±23%), with no change occurring in the CON leg (9±4 to10±5 mL/min at 15 mins). No main effects were noted for FMD following IPC; however, 7 of 8 subjects demonstrated increases in FMD%/AUC for EXP leg (+89±55% improvement; P=0.095, d= 0.362). CONCLUSION: Though no statistical difference was found, there were notable effect sizes reported, thus giving the study further explanation of merit.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effects of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression on Leg Blood Flow and Vascular Function After Spinal Cord Injury"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Daniel Credeur","Scott Piland","David Dolbow"],"dc:creator":["Cialdella, Lena Marie"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) can increase leg blood flow (BF) in able-bodied persons. Whether IPC can alter leg BF, and improve vascular function in people with SCI is currently unknown. PURPOSE: Test the hypothesis that acute IPC will increase leg BF, and improve vascular function in SCI. METHODS: Participants (n=8; injury level: T3 and below; A.S.I.A. class A-C; age: 41±17 yrs) were recruited for a 1-hour IPC session performed in one leg (experimental leg; EXP), with the other serving as a control (CON). IPC consisted of sequential, foot-to-calf compressions (4-s inflate, 16-s deflate; 3 compressions/min). Posterior-tibial artery BF (Doppler-ultrasound) was examined at rest, and at 15 and 45 mins of IPC. Vascular function was assessed using the flow-mediated dilation approach (FMD), before and after IPC. RESULTS: Resting posterior-tibial artery diameter, BF, FMD% and FMD normalized to shear area-under-curve (FMD%/AUC) were similar between legs at rest. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA (leg x time) revealed that during IPC, BF tended to increase (P=0.063) in EXP leg (8±2 to 11±3 mL/min at 15 mins; +42±23%), with no change occurring in the CON leg (9±4 to10±5 mL/min at 15 mins). No main effects were noted for FMD following IPC; however, 7 of 8 subjects demonstrated increases in FMD%/AUC for EXP leg (+89±55% improvement; P=0.095, d= 0.362). CONCLUSION: Though no statistical difference was found, there were notable effect sizes reported, thus giving the study further explanation of merit.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/179"],"dc:subject":["IPC","SCI","Vascular Function","Blood Flow","Spinal Cord Injury","Exercise Science","Kinesiology"],"dc:title":["Effects of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression on Leg Blood Flow and Vascular Function After Spinal Cord Injury"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Kinesiology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:34Z"}