A new study by Kennedy Krieger Institute’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (Epub ahead of print) finds that long-term lower extremity functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling, as part of a rehabilitation regimen, is associated with substantial improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).
Improvements include neurological and functional gains, as well as enhanced physical health demonstrated by decreased fat, increased muscle mass and improved lipid profile. Prior to this study’s publication today in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, the benefits of activity-based restorative therapy (ABRT) programs, such as FES cycling, were largely anecdotal despite publicity in conjunction with the recovery of actor and activist Christopher Reeve. Continue Reading »
A new treatment approach which uses tiny bursts of electricity to reawaken paralyzed muscles “significantly” reduced disability and improved grasping in people with incomplete spinal cord injuries, beyond the effects of standard therapy, newly published research shows.
In a study published online in the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Toronto researchers report that functional electrical stimulation (FES) therapy worked better than conventional occupational therapy alone to increase patients’ ability to pick up and hold objects. Continue Reading »
Electronic “bridge” could one day assist paralysis patients.
Until recently, severe spinal cord injuries came with a fairly definite diagnosis of paralysis, whether partial or complete. But new developments in both stem-cell therapy and electronic stimulation have begun to provide hope, however distant, that paralysis may not be a life sentence. Complicated muscle stimulation devices can enable limited standing and walking, and the first embryonic stem-cell trials began last year. Other techniques, however, may provide an even simpler solution. Continue Reading »
Three community-based health and wellness facilities to provide better access to exercise for those living with paralysis
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation has named three new locations to its NeuroRecovery Network (NRN) Community Fitness and Wellness facilities, which afford people with physical disabilities the chance to improve their health through exercise. Courage Center in Minneapolis, MN, Neuroworx in South Jordan, UT, and NextSteps Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois join Frazier Rehab Institute – Community Fitness and Wellness Facility in Louisville, KY and NextStep Fitness in Lawndale, CA. Continue Reading »
This is another in a long line of Miracles for Margaret.
Margaret Romph received her FES rehabilitation bike through insurance and can now begin an integral part of her rehabilitation in the comfort of her newly remodeled rehabilitation room.
Earlier this year, Margaret, her older sister Erin and their grandmother were involved in a serious accident, just outside of the Jefferson City city limits. Continue Reading »
Brain signals can drive arm movement in a monkey with a paralyzed arm.
A monkey with a paralyzed arm can still grasp a ball, thanks to a novel system designed to translate brain signals into complex muscle movements in real time. The research, presented at the Society for Neuroscience conference in Chicago this week, could one day allow people with spinal cord injury to control their own limbs. Continue Reading »
UCLA researchers have discovered that a combination of drugs, electrical stimulation and regular exercise can enable paralyzed rats to walk and even run again while supporting their full weight on a treadmill.
Published Nov. 20 in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience, the findings suggest that the regeneration of severed nerve fibers is not required for paraplegic rats to learn to walk again. The finding may hold implications for human rehabilitation after spinal cord injuries. Continue Reading »
A new study has revealed that electrical nerve stimulation can effectively reduce neuropathic pain following a spinal cord injury.
Neuropathic pain is often difficult to relieve and usually managed with drugs such as antidepressants or anticonvulsants.
In the new study, researchers assessed the short-term effects of high- and low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on neuropathic pain following SCI. Continue Reading »
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A new study by Kennedy Krieger Institute’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (Epub ahead of print) finds that long-term lower extremity functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling, as part of a rehabilitation regimen, is associated with substantial improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).
A new treatment approach which uses tiny bursts of electricity to reawaken paralyzed muscles “significantly” reduced disability and improved grasping in people with incomplete spinal cord injuries, beyond the effects of standard therapy, newly published research shows. 
Electronic “bridge” could one day assist paralysis patients. 
This is another in a long line of Miracles for Margaret.
Brain signals can drive arm movement in a monkey with a paralyzed arm.
UCLA researchers have discovered that a combination of drugs, electrical stimulation and regular exercise can enable paralyzed rats to walk and even run again while supporting their full weight on a treadmill.