Exercise Benefit List?

[Jimi5]

I am constructing a letter regarding a piece of exercise equipment. I need some help with the potential benefits. I have listed them below. I would like to know if they are cool and are there any others I didn't list. Thanks alot
Potential benefits include improvement to the cold feeling in my legs, improvement of bowel and bladder function and control, less occurance of UTI's, improvement to respitory function and capacity, improvement in cardiovascular system, lower resting heartrate, increase in strength, decrease in spasticity and spasms, decrease in edema increase in circulation, an increase in energy, decrease in fatigue, improved sleep patterns, and improvement in my positioning and posture.

[SCI-Nurse]

While it is certainly great to exercise more, I am not sure you could back up some of these items if you were asked for clinical research documentation from your insurer. For example, if you have a higher level of injury (ie, upper thoracic or cervical) you may not achieve a lower resting heart rate with exercise, and you would have to be able to prove that this was beneficial for your health. I am also not aware of studies that show that exercise reduces your risk for UTI or that it would impact your cold sensation in your legs.

Justification letters must be specific to what you are requesting as well (and be sure that this is re-written in "medicalese" by your physician or PT). What are you trying to justify? A gym membership? More PT? A certain piece of exercise equipment?

(KLD)

[Jimi5]

KLD,
It's for a piece of exercise equipment. ExNFlex for the legs. I don't have a level of injury, so to speak. I had brain stem encephfilitous. My spinal cord is fine. At least that's what they say. You know Gulf War Syndrome and all that stuff. I don't know about your VA but here they don't think exercise is necessary. I appreciate any feedback you can give me about a letter. I know it has to be darn near perfect.

[SCI-Nurse]

Are you able to actively move your arms or legs? If used in active mode (with you providing at least part of the power) then you might be able to claim some cardiovascular effects and muscle strengthening effects. If used in the passive mode, and you have no volitional motion of your own the leg machine would really only have benefit as far as maintaining range of motion (and perhaps some spasticity decrease), and it would be debatable if this would be any better than traditional range of motion therapy done by a therapist or aide. Without electrical stimulation of the muscles at the same time, there would be no cardiovascular or muscle strengthening benefit.

The company and your PT should be able to write the appropriate justification letter given your specific impairments.

(KLD)