Assessment of skin blood content and oxygenation in spinal cord injured subjects during reactive hyperemia.

This study was undertaken to determine whether the reactive hyperemia response following ischemia in spinal cord injured (SCI) individuals is different from that which occurs in able-bodied (AB) individuals. The reactive hyperemia response was produced by applying a pressure of 150 mmHg for 300 s, 600 s, and 900 s to the skin over the greater trochanter in 10 SCI and 10 AB subjects using a computer-controlled pneumatic indentation system. The changes in blood content and oxygenation in the superficial vessels of the skin, associated with indentation, were monitored using reflectance spectrophotometry. A brief pressure of 80 mmHg, to simulate finger pressing (blanching), was applied to the same site to detect changes in reflow behavior during the hyperemic period. The results indicate that the reactive hyperemia response in SCI group was not substantially different from AB group although the reflow rate after load release was slower in the SCI group compared with the AB group.