Effects of Remote Ischemic Conditioning on Hand Use in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

About this trial

This trial is recruiting individuals with chronic incomplete cervical (neck area) spinal cord injuries to test the effect of remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) during hand exercises. RIC temporarily restricts blood flow by inflating a blood pressure cuff around the arm. This restriction is thought to increase the benefits of the exercises. If included, participants will perform 2 sets of hand exercise, pinching a dynamometer with thumb and index finger at different intensities and durations (10% - 50% of maximal voluntary contraction and durations (2-6 seconds). The exercise will be combined with either 1) the active RIC (5 cycles of 5-minutes inflation and 5-minutes deflation on the non-target arm using higher cuff pressure); or 2) the sham RIC protocol (5 cycles of 5-minutes inflation at lower pressure).