Brock leads way with exercise for spinal cord injury

[manouli]

the benefits of exercising.


Brock leads way with exercise for spinal cord injury
Linda Crabtree Special to The Standard

Friday, July 6, 2012 7:01:30 EDT PM



How many times have you read about walking for exercise? The articles tell us to just get out there and walk. It’ll improve you circulation, your heart and lungs will be healthier, you’ll lose pounds and every part of you will benefit.

But what happens if you can’t walk? What happens to your body when you stop exercising because you’ve lost the movement in your legs, arms or more because of a spinal cord injury (SCI)?

After hearing David Ditor, associate professor of the Department of Kinesiology (the study of human movement) at Brock University, talk about the benefits of exercise on a body that won’t voluntarily move, I decided to go to Brock and take a look at what’s going on.

Ditor, who trained at McMaster, and did his post-doctoral work at the Robarts Research Institute, specializes in spinal cord injury and the roll of exercise in preventing and reversing secondary health complications. He also teaches a fourth year class in spinal cord injury — the only one offered in Canada.

There is also a lab and research component to his work and that is studying various aspects of function after spinal injury and the role of exercise in most people.

Having already grown out of one gym/lab space, Ditor works in a fairly large area, the walls lined with all manner of cool contraptions it would take an engineer to figure out.

read....

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2...al-cord-injury

[topperf]

It's not what we like to hear, but it's going to take a lot of besides whatever technology that will prove beneficial. I try my best to keep in shape, but damn it's tempting to just let it all slide..