Cycling with Functional Electrical Stimulation Before and After a Distal Femur Fracture in a Man with Paraplegia.

CASE PRESENTATION: A man with chronic paraplegia sustained a distal femur fracture following an unrelated fall while enrolled in a study examining musculoskeletal changes after 6 months of cycling with functional electrical stimulation (FES). After healing, he restarted and completed the study.

MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOME: Study measures included areal bone mineral density, trabecular bone microarchitecture, cortical bone macroarchitecture, serum bone formation/resorption markers, and muscle volume. The patient made small gains in bone- and muscle-related measures. Bone markers had not returned to baseline prior to restarting cycling, which may have impacted results.

DISCUSSION: This case shows that cycling with FES may be safely resumed after distal femur fracture.