Some people who are involved in a motor vehicle accident might suffer from spinal cord injuries. A spinal cord injury can lead to difficulties in many areas of life. Some of the difficulties might be able to be managed and some improvements might occur if the person with a spinal cord injury is able to do some exercises.
What are some of the challenges for people with spinal cord injuries trying to exercise?
Body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate are all factors that can sometimes make exercise difficult for people who have suffered a spinal cord injury. For some people, low pressure makes it difficult to exercise because of queasy and lightheaded feelings. The inability of the body to increase the body temperature can make it difficult to accurately gauge the intensity of the exercise. The same is true for heart rate when it doesn’t increase properly.
Can a person with a spinal cord injury exercise effectively?
People who have suffered from a spinal cord injury can exercise effectively; however, some people might need to use adaptive equipment or alternative exercises to get the benefits. Some people who have a spinal cord injury might opt to use functional electrical stimulation as a method to get exercise. This method uses electrical stimulation to move paralyzed muscles to perform specific movements.
In some cases, exercise after a spinal cord injury requires extensive help. With that, as well as other costs of caring for a person with a spinal cord injury in mind, some people opt to seek compensation to help cover the costs of all the care.
Source: University of Washington, “Get Moving: Exercise and SCI,” accessed July 01, 2015
