Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 8 weeks of resistance circuit training in people with paraplegia due to spinal cord injury.Methods Participants were randomized into experimental and control groups. Although the intensity and sequence of movements of the exercise programs were identical in both groups, the resting time between sets was limited to 1 minute in the experimental group. In the control group, the participants were allowed to rest until they were comfortable. Both groups received 8 weeks of training twice per week. Before and after the program, muscle mass, body fat percentage, fat mass, blood pressure, heart rate, muscle strength and muscular endurance were evaluated, and 6-minute propulsion test was conducted. Additionally, the safety of the program was assessed.Results Twenty-two individuals with paraplegia were enrolled (11 in each group). After the training program, the experimental group showed a significant decrease in the resting blood pressure and improvement in the upper extremity muscle mass, strength, and endurance (p<0.05). Each variable showed significant inter-group differences (p<0.05). Furthermore, none of the participants showed autonomic adverse events, musculoskeletal side effects, or discomfort.Conclusion The results show that resistance circuit training programs with short resting intervals are superior to the usual resistance exercise programs in improving the blood pressure and physical strength and are safe for people with upper thoracic level injuries at T6 or higher.

Objective To determine the characteristics of pediatric spinal cord injury (SCI) in South Korea from 1990 to 2019.Methods This single-centered retrospective study included pediatric SCIs. Individuals were divided into the following five groups according to onset age: ≤5, 6–12, 13–14, 15–17, and 18–19 years. The severity of complete injury was graded according to the American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale A (AIS A). Incomplete injury was graded according to AIS B, C, and D. Pearson chi-square test was used for statistical analysis.Results Of the 267 individuals included, 216 (80.9%) had traumatic SCIs (male-to-female ratio of 3.2:1), and 51 (19.1%) had non-traumatic SCIs (male-to-female ratio of 0.7:1). In the traumatic SCI group, 192 (88.9%) individuals were ≥15 years at the time of injury (males, 78.6%). The most common etiologies of traumatic SCIs, ranging from most to least common, were accidents related to motorcycles, falls, cars, and diving. In the non-traumatic SCI group, inflammatory (33.3%) and neoplastic (25.5%) etiologies were found to be the most common ones.Conclusion We found that traumatic SCIs incidence in the pediatric population was high, particularly in male individuals aged 15–19 years. The non-traumatic SCIs mostly cause paraplegia and incomplete injury. Therefore, it can be used as a basic data for the evaluation, treatment and prevention strategy of pediatric patients with SCI.

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