Exercise Programs for Spinal Injury Recovery

Intensity matters, and continued exercise is extremely important for people with a spinal cord injury. When done rigorously and regularly, exercise can help enhance recovery from an SCI. Our community-based program allows us to work with clients immediately after in-patient discharge alongside outpatient therapies and for years post-injury if needed. We’ve seen significant functional improvements from clients at all stages of recovery. Regardless of the time since injury, we focus on maximizing the activation of all working muscle groups with intensive exercise that promotes neuroplasticity.

Every person and injury is different. A proper exercise program must be catered to you, your level of injury and voluntary muscle activation.

The best way to find what’s best for you is to meet with one of our Neuro Exercise Specialists for a comprehensive exercise assessment. This 90-minute discovery session will help us learn all we can about you, your injury, how you move and how we can improve it with exercise. The assessment includes active and passive muscle activation, manual muscle testing, seated and standing postural stability testing, gait analysis (when appropriate), seated and/or standing endurance, and a thorough discussion about your daily life with your injury.

Following the assessment, one of our coaches will develop your personalized exercise routine. The routine will be built around your specific areas of need, your goals and the most recent peer-reviewed research.

All programs are tailored to your current ability level and goals. Especially with our clients recovering from an SCI, we build on and celebrate small successes. We help facilitate muscle activation as necessary to help stimulate the brain and body to aid in recovery.

We understand this can be a financial investment, but we believe strongly in the ability of our Neuro Exercise Specialists. We build programs that show our clients progress that genuinely helps them live stronger each day. These beliefs are supported by our numerous client testimonials and years of experience and expertise in the neuro-exercise field.

When programmed properly, exercise can help you manage your symptoms better each day and will not worsen your condition. Properly programmed exercise itself will not make your condition worse. If we see any regression in ability, we will coordinate with your neurologist and physical therapist to ensure proper measures are taken.

Everyone is different, which is why we require all clients to gain medical clearance from their physician before exercising. This helps us understand your current medical status and helps to determine how much you may be able to push yourself. Recent research indicates that vigorous exercise can promote neuroplasticity and optimize the ability to recover. It’s important to build a progressive program suitable to your current ability level and increase intensity and duration over time.

We always recommend that people remain active outside the gym. Your guided exercise with a professional should focus on challenging exercises you cannot do on your own. Your independent exercise includes general mobility, cardiovascular and strength exercises that complement our sessions. We also encourage all clients to find an adaptive sport to help keep them active and engaged outside the gym.

Progress doesn’t stop when physical therapy does. There’s a lot more work to be done and progress to make! We’ve helped clients continue to become more independent years post-injury. Exercise can also help many other aspects of your recovery from a spinal cord injury, including:

• Increase functional ability in activities of daily living and enhance your ability to sit, stand, or walk more independently
• Improvements in emotional and social health
• Decrease the risk of secondary conditions commonly found with inactivity, including diabetes and heart disease, pressure sores, shoulder overuse injuries, loss of bone mineral density, and many more

No, exercise cannot be a substitute for your medication. We strongly suggest working with your neurologist and other physicians on your team to optimize your medications. When you optimize your symptoms, this also helps you maximize the impact of your exercise routine.

Movement Revolution will help you understand your current condition and how exercise can help you maximize your daily abilities. Our team of Neuro Exercise Specialists and client communities are all here to rally around you and help you live stronger every day.