Effects of treadmill training on microvascular remodeling in the rat after spinal cord injury.

Introduction: The morphological characteristics of skeletal muscles innervated caudal to a spinal cord injury (SCI) undergo dramatic phenotypic and microvascular changes.

Method: Female Sprague-Dawley rats received a severe contusion at thoracic level 9/10 and were randomly assigned to locomotor training, epidural stimulation, or a combination of the treatment groups (CB). Fiber type composition and capillary distribution were assessed in phenotypically distinct compartments of the tibialis anterior.