Study Design: This was an acute basic physiological study in anesthetized adult male rats. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine, in an animal model, whether innocuous somatic stimulation, in the form of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), could produce a sustained augmentation of spinal cord blood flow, and whether this effect was robust in the face of relatively mild, non-destructive compression of the spinal cord.
INTRODUCTIONThe functional integrity of the spinal cord and spinal nerve roots is, of course, dependent upon adequate perfusion and the availability of oxygen. As one might expect, laboratory investigations of spinal cord/ nerve root function often model the most destructive lesions in which normal anatomical and physiological relationships have been disrupted. 1,2 In rat models of traumatic spinal cord injury, it has been demonstrated that both the extent and nature of neuronal damage are linked to the degree and duration of ischemia. 3,4 Compressive injury has been shown to cause an immediate and sustained decrease in local spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) in rat models. 3,5,6 Furthermore, augmentation of SCBF is associated with improved recovery of motor function in rat models of spinal cord compression. 7,8 Less is known about spinal cord responses to milder compression.With regard to the therapeutic potential of physical therapies, it is understood that various forms of somatic stimulation increase SCBF in animal models. Recent studies in urethane-anesthetized adult male rats confirm that innocuous somatic stimulation (cutaneous brushing) results in a segmentally organized reflex augmentation of regional SCBF in the intact spinal cord. 9 Furthermore, these studies suggest that, whereas neuronal activation is probably the most important mechanism underlying increased SCBF, alpha-adrenergic receptors also participate in this process. 10,11 The studies cited 9-11 employed stimulation periods of 30-60 s, and therefore it is unclear whether animals might quickly habituate to stimulation or whether the increases in SCBF could be maintained for periods likely to have