Exercise Prescription for Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

The spinal cord serves as the primary neural communication pathway between the brain and most of the rest of the body. Injury to this region of the spinal column can elicit severe, debilitating conditions. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (2018), a spinal cord injury (SCI) is characterized by an injury or disease process of the spinal cord that results in altered motor, sensory, or autonomic functioning (or some combination of these). According to Anjum and colleagues (2020), approximately 250,000 to 500,000 individuals in the world suffer from SCI. SCI pathophysiology consists of acute and chronic phases that incorporate a cascade of destructive events such as ischemia, oxidative stress, inflammatory events, apoptotic pathways and locomotor dysfunctions (Anjum et al., 2020). Gender, age, and ethnicity are not limiting or enhancing factors when it comes to spinal cord injuries. Treatment strategies for spinal cord injury are primarily short-term and fail to completely overcome the detrimental effects of spinal cord injury. These strategies, including pharmaceutical, focus on the improvement of decreased neuro-inflammation, promotion of axonal growth, enhanced myelination, and reduced cavity size (Anjum et al., 2020).https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/exercise-science-research-proposal-posters/1127/thumbnail.jp