The Australian and NZ SCI Physiotherapy guideline committee recommends combined arm cranking and leg cycling (plus or minus Electrical Stimulation) to improve cardiorespiratory fitness in people with SCI.

This is a consensus-based opinion statement supported by the opinions of the experts. There are no randomized controlled trials on this topic. The guideline states:

Combined arm cranking and leg cycling (plus or minus Electrical Stimulation) should be provided to improve cardiorespiratory fitness in people with SCI.

This statement was formed by considering the opinions of the experts alongside other factors. The other factors that were considered were benefits and harms, values and preferences, resource use, equity, accessibility, and feasibility. This is a consensus-based opinion statement. Consensus-based opinion statements are less robust than evidence-based recommendations. They can be strong or weak. This is a strong consensus-based opinion statement which means that the guideline panel is confident they can recommend combined arm cranking and leg cycling (plus or minus Electrical Stimulation) sto improve cardiorespiratory fitness in people with SCI based on opinion.

To learn more about the research related to this intervention go to the research summary tab on the website.