Exercise therapy and recovery after SCI: evidence that shows early intervention improves recovery of function

In the January edition of Spinal Cord Dr. Brown and his colleagues from Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA discuss exercise therapy and recovery after SCI. Locomotor training is one of the most effective strategies currently available for facilitating recovery of function after an incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). However, there is still controversy regarding the timing of treatment initiation for maximal recovery benefits evidence that shows early intervention improves recovery of function. There paper concludes that implementing an exercise regimen in the acute phase of SCI maximizes the potential for recovery of function.

The HandTutor system can is used early in the physical rehabilitation of incomplete spinal cord injury patients as the virtual functional exercise tasks can be tailored to the movement ability of the patient. Therefore the patient can start to do intensive repetitive exercises even if they have limited upper extremity arm and hand movement ability.