The Efficacy of Ischemic Preconditioning on Handgrip Strength and Strength Endurance in Para-Athletes With Spinal-Cord Injury: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: This pilot study investigated the functional outcomes after ischemic preconditioning (IPC) in high-level para-athletes with spinal-cord injury.

Methods: Nine athletes completed 2 handgrip exercise trials (an isometric hold to failure at 60% maximal voluntary contraction [ISO] and a progressive, intermittent handgrip to failure [INT]), preceded by either IPC (220 mm Hg) or sham (20 mm Hg) for six 5-minute periods, in a repeated-measures, crossover design.

Results: Although small performance improvements in time to task failure were observed in the ISO (∼5%) and INT (∼8%) IPC conditions, which are similar to those reported elsewhere, no statistical influence was observed (ISO-IPC, 74.