Exercising with a Spinal Cord Injury

At West Coast Neuro, several of the individuals who complete their therapy sessions in our clinic live with a spinal cord injury. Through reading this post, we are aiming to bring attention to the challenges that those with a spinal cord injury face, as well as increase the understanding of and care for these injuries. Throughout therapy sessions we aim to improve the health and quality of living for these people through high quality, evidence based care. In this blog post, we will highlight the importance of exercise therapy for those living with a spinal cord injury, along with some of the specialised equipment we have at our clinic that can help to increase individuals activity levels. 

 Physical Activity with a Spinal Cord Injury

Just like members of a healthy population, it is vital for those living with a spinal cord injury to remain active in order to best manage their health and wellbeing. Although, due to different sensory and motor impairments, along with barriers such as skin pressure care and blood pressure management, it can be difficult to reach the recommended amount of exercise. At West Coast Neuro, our Exercise Physiologists who have experience working with spinal cord injuries aim to help overcome these barriers. Appropriate and individualised exercise interventions are effective in improving fitness, increasing strength, increasing range of motion and supporting mental wellbeing. Still feeling like it may be difficult for you to get moving due to your physical impairments? Here are 7 pieces of equipment that are commonly used throughout exercise sessions at our clinic. 

1. Evolve EasyStand Standing Frame

Our Standing Frame helps to promote weight bearing and an upright posture, whilst aiming to create a natural standing position unlike some other standing devices. The benefits of this are helping to reduce complications such as pressure sores, manage bone density and reduce the risk of joint contracture. It can also help to promote healthy bladder and bowel management through utilising gravity to assist with digestion. The frame has multiple support braces ensuring that the user is safe, and can be adjusted for different body sizes. The frame also has a glider mechanism to help complete aerobic exercise whilst standing, and supports can be removed to complete more strength exercises. 

2. LiteGait Body Weight support system

The LightGait system can be used for both overground and treadmill locomotor training. It can be used to support body weight, decreasing body weight load that a person is required to support with their legs, and can make standing / balance / walking exercises both safer and easier. This system also measures the amount of body weight supported on a tablet, to give real time feedback and post-session reports, helping to set goals and monitor progress. 

3. Whole Body Vibration Plate

This machine forces rapid, multidirectional movements through an individual’s joints whilst they are standing or weight bearing on this machine. What is the benefit of this? There is growing evidence to support whole body vibration to assist in the management of spasticity and tone, along with the potential of providing more sensory feedback and assisting in pain management. It is a non-invasive treatment that can be utilised whilst completing other exercises focusing on strength, postural control or functional movements.

4. Functional Trainer Cable system

Completing strength training can be difficult for those with a spinal cord injury, or any form of paralysis as they may have difficulty controlling resistance. This machine is easily adjustable to ensure safe ranges of motion, and can be used to replicate functional, everyday movements. 

5. Fluid Arm Cycle

Whether it be for a strength or aerobic focus, our arm cycle is great for wheelchair users as it is easily accessible and has adjustable grips to suit different grip preferences. It can be difficult for a wheelchair user to reach and sustain suitable intensities for aerobic exercise, but this arm cycle is one of the ways that this barrier can be overcome.

6. Double plinth / floor mats

In our clinic, we have large soft surfaces that provide a safe and adaptable environment to complete tasks such as rolling, kneeling or seated balance. 

7. Active Hands

These gloves are a way to assist a person who has difficulty with grasp, and are used in many ways throughout sessions. These may be to help hold a handle for the cable machine to complete strength exercises, or to strap hands into the arm cycle to complete aerobic exercise. Many people may think that lack of grip strength may deem them unable to complete any upper body exercise, but the active hands help to ensure this is not the case. 

Our focus on Functional Training

One of our main focuses is to help those with a spinal cord injury improve their functional capacity to increase independence and ability to perform everyday movements. For this reason, many of the movements throughout our sessions will aim to be specific to the person’s goals and things that they may be able to begin doing for themself. These tasks may include aiming to improve transfer ability, wheelchair skills or postural control. Whatever the goal, we will aim to adapt exercise to suit.

For more information as to how we can help with your goals, or to schedule a consultation with one of our allied health professionals, email is at admin@westcoastneuro.com.au or give us a call on 08 6187 6487.