By Kim Anderson, PhD
How many times has your doctor told you that you need to increase your physical activity? Has he/she ever told you how much or what kinds of physical activity you need to do each week? Has he/she told you what the benefits are, for people living with spinal cord injury (SCI), of engaging in certain levels of physical activity each week?
In a previous article, we talked about physical activity and what the recommended levels are for people with SCI.
For people with SCI just starting to engage in physical activity, it is recommended that you do the following 2 times every week:
- 20 minutes of aerobic activity that is moderate to vigorous intensity AND
- 3 sets of 10 repetitions of strength-training activity for each major muscle group you can use
As you increase in your endurance you can then increase your aerobic activity to 30 minutes 3 times every week while continuing the strength-training activity.
But what is the benefit?
Our Northeast Ohio Regional SCI System (NORSCIS) has been participating in a collaborative study with other SCI Systems to try to answer this question. The study was led by the SCI System in Minneapolis and included us, Pittsburg, Miami, and Washington DC. We enrolled a total of 361 adults with SCI and asked them various questions about physical activity, perceived health, pain, depression,
resilience, hospitalization events, and social integration. We are submitting the results for scientific review and publication, but some of the main findings are:
- Almost half (43%) of the people that participated in the study were meeting the physical activity recommendations each week
- Meeting the physical activity recommendations was linked with people perceiving their health was better
- People who met the physical activity recommendations also reported feeling more resilient (able to face challenges life throws at them and adapt)
- Interestingly, meeting the physical activity recommendations did not reduce the likelihood of having pain, depression, or experiencing a hospitalization event.
So, what is the take home message?
Overall, engaging in aerobic activities and strength-training activities twice each week is good for you – it can improve how you feel about your health and how you adapt to life’s challenges. Reducing pain, depression, and the likelihood of having a hospitalization event is complex – there are likely many factors, not just activity, that impact these problems.
Resources:
- https://sciguidelines.ubc.ca/tools-for-success/activity-examples/
- https://adaptivesportsohio.org/
- https://www.themiamiproject.org/participant/healthy-lifestyle/
- https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/about/cleveland-metroparks-organization/accessibility
- https://www.lakemetroparks.com/accessibility-in-lake-metroparks/
- https://www.summitmetroparks.org/plan-your-visit/accessibility/
