The Effect of an Exercise Program on Physical Function After a Spinal Cord Injury

Summary

This study would focus on adding a group exercise program to the usual therapy delivered in the hospital. We propose to design an exercise program that would be 30 minutes in length, 3 times per week. A medical doctor and physiotherapist would oversee the design and monitoring of the program.

We believe that this program will: 1) Increase the potential for better health, thus improving independence and quality of life; 2) Help people make the move from therapist run exercise to self management of exercise; 3) Engage the patient in the therapy process and place an expectation of active participation on the client; and 4) Promote physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Cardiovascular training

The cardiovascular training group will receive their usual therapy plus 3 days of 30 minutes of exercise per week. This program will last for 6 weeks while the participant is in the hospital. The cardiovascular training program will include pushing and pulling on pulleys, wheeling over mats, punching a boxing bag, and using an arm ergometer. The balance training group will receive their usual therapy plus 3 days of 30 minutes of sitting balance activities. This program will last for 6 weeks while the participant is in the hospital.

BEHAVIORAL

Balance training

The balance training group will receive their usual therapy plus 3 days of 30 minutes of sitting balance activities. This program will last for 6 weeks while the participant is in the hospital. The balance training program will include sitting on mats - moving arm support from in front of the body to behind body, moving from sitting to lying and back up, and catching soft foam ball thrown directly to centre of chest and throwing it back.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of British Columbia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Janice Eng, Ph.D · University of British Columbia

• William Miller, Ph.D · University of British Columbia

• Andrei Krassioukov, Ph.D · University of British Columbia

• Chihya Hung · University of British Columbia

• Amira Tawashy · University of British Columbia

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

16 Years

Max Age

50 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2007-09-30

Primary Completion

2011-05-31

Completion

2011-05-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations