Effects of abdominal binding on field-based exercise responses in Paralympic athletes with cervical spinal cord injury

Effects of abdominal binding on field-based exercise responses in Paralympic athletes with cervical spinal cord injury.

Christopher R. West, Ian G. Campbell, Victoria L. Goosey-Tolfrey, Barry S. Mason, Lee M. Romer

Abstract

Abdominal binding has been shown to improve resting cardiorespiratory function in individuals with

cervical SCI, but it is not yet clear whether this approach improves the exercise response.

Objectives: To determine the effects of abdominal binding on parameters relating to wheelchair sports performance in highly-trained athletes with cervical SCI.

Design: Repeated-measures field-based study.

Methods: Ten Paralympic wheelchair rugby players with motor-complete SCI (C5–C7) completed a series of exercise tests in two conditions (bound and unbound). The following parameters were assessed: agility and acceleration/deceleration performance; cardiorespiratory function and gross efficiency during submaximal wheelchair propulsion; anaerobic performance and propulsion kinematics during a 30s Wingate test; repeated sprint performance during a 10 × 20 m test; and aerobic performance during a repeated 4 min push test.

Results: Compared to unbound, 6 of 17 field-based performance measures changed significantly with binding. Time to complete the acceleration/deceleration test decreased (p = 0.005), whereas distances covered during the repeated 4 min push test increased (p < 0.043). Binding elicited significant reductions in minute ventilation during submaximal wheelchair propulsion (p = 0.040) as well as blood lactate accumulation and limb discomfort during the second set of the repeated 4 min push test (p = 0.012 and 0.022). There were no statistically significant effects of binding on any other variable.

Conclusions: Abdominal binding improves some important measures of field-based performance in highly-trained athletes with cervical SCI. The changes may be attributable, at least in part, to improvements in trunk stability, ventilatory efficiency and/or haemodynamics.

Source.

Wheelchair rugby - athletes testing

Last Saturday we tested the physical and sport specific skills of our athletes in the Dutch Wheelchair Rugby Talent Selection Team with Tom Paulson. Great experience and nice results.

Posted by Testcentrum CASA Reade on Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Last Saturday we tested the physical and sport specific skills of our athletes in the Dutch Wheelchair Rugby Talent Selection Team with Tom Paulson. Great experience and nice results.

Posted by Testcentrum CASA Reade on Tuesday, 19 May 2015

BMI calculator wrongly labelling thousands as obese, research shows, plus BMI and Spinal Cord Injuries

The BMI calculator used in the public health system to measure obesity rates is highly flawed and could be slapping a false fat label on thousands of Australians, new research has highlighted.

A study into the size and shape of women aged 18-44 has found that almost one-third of participants were miscalculated as obese using the BMI calculator alone, highlighting the need for body measurements, percentage body fat and muscle mass to be introduced into testing.

Read the rest.

Your waist measurement compares closely with your body mass index (BMI), and is often seen as a better way of checking your risk of developing a chronic disease.

Read the rest.

Measuring the waist circumference in people with a SCI should be done in supine position.

Being overweight is a common problem for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Some research shows that two out of three people with SCI are overweight. Excess weight gained after SCI is difficult to lose, and it is hard to maintain weight over time and avoid putting on extra pounds. In part this is due to a reduced ability to move freely. The higher the injury, the more difficult it is to move, stay active, and exercise. A person with a cervical SCI will have more difficulty moving compared to someone with SCI in the lower spine. The same is true for the completeness of an injury. A person with an incomplete injury who is able to walk will likely burn more calories than a person who has a complete injury and uses a wheelchair full time.

Read the rest.

A review of body mass index and waist circumference as markers of obesity and coronary heart disease risk in persons with chronic spinal cord injury.

Read the rest.

Waist circumference is the best index for obesity-related cardiovascular disease risk in individuals with spinal cord injury.

Read the rest.

Paralysed man walks again after cell transplant

A paralysed man has been able to walk again after a pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.

Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.

The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.

Read the rest on bbc.news.

A tiny, flexible gold-plated device may be the key to restoring paralyzed humans’ spinal functions

EPFL researcher's neural implant can make paralyzed rats walk again. Soft and stretchable, it is the first of its kind that can be implanted directly on the spinal chord, without damaging it. Described in Science, this new generation device called e-Dura combines electrical and chemical stimulation.

One of the health conditions modern medicine has yet to fix is paralysis in patients who have experienced accidents affecting their spinal cords. But, CNET reports, researchers from Switzerland have already come up with a tiny, flexible, gold-plated device that can be implanted in patients to restore spinal cord functionality and allow paralyzed patients to walk again. [...]

SPINALpedia

SPINALpedia is a social mentoring network and video archive that allows the spinal cord injury community to motivate each other with the knowledge and triumphs gained from our individual experiences.

How to choose a wheelchair

Welcome to Episode 1 of a How To video series presented by National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) with the help of Mary Allison Cook, a wheelchair user for the past 23 years. She will lead us through a number of How To's for the wheelchair user. In this video you will learn the important aspects of how to choose a wheelchair that is right for you.

Learn everything about Spinal Cord Injuries

Recognising the need to disseminate information about comprehensive management of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) took the initiative to develop elearnSCI.org, a web-based teaching and educational resource. elearnSCI.org specifically addresses the current lack of professional development opportunities for medical and paramedical professionals involved in SCI Management due to the limited access of up-to-date SCI training and learning materials/ resources. The content has been developed by 332 leading SCI professionals and educationists from around the world and reflects realities in both high and low resource settings. The content has been informed by the most up-to-date SCI research and as such will be of relevance to students, those new to the field of SCI and to SCI practitioners everywhere. The Asian Spinal Cord Network (ASCoN), Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), Livability and the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme partnered with ISCoS to develop this resource, with financial support from Access to Health Care.

Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence

• Over 3500 articles reviewed
• 1400+ articles rated
• 107 Outcome Measures assessed (Download for Free)
• 80+ researchers, clinicians and trainees from 5 different countries involved in updating the key topic areas in SCIRE, including New Chapters on Economic Evaluation of Spinal Cord Injury and Sexual and Reproductive Health and SCI

http://www.scireproject.com/

New device allows brain to bypass spinal cord and move paralysed limbs

For the first time ever, a paralysed man has moved his fingers and hand with his own thoughts after an electronic neural bypass for spinal cord injuries that reconnects the brain directly to muscles, allowing voluntary and functional control of a paralysed limb. This innovation comes from a partnership between The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Battelle.

Read more on NeuroNews.

Hugh Herr: The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance

Hugh Herr is building the next generation of bionic limbs, robotic prosthetics inspired by nature's own designs. Herr lost both legs in a climbing accident 30 years ago; now, as the head of the MIT Media Lab's Biomechatronics group, he shows his incredible technology in a talk that's both technical and deeply personal — with the help of ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and performs again for the first time on the TED stage.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.

Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate

Follow TED news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tednews

Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED

Pioneering implant revives legs of paralysed men

11:42 08 April 2014 by Andy Coghlan

Magazine issue 2964. Subscribe and save

They can't quite walk. Yet. But four wheelchair-bound men who until recently were completely paralysed below the waist can now move their legs and toes and even lift up to 100 kilograms with their legs. Their spinal cords have been reawakened by electrical implants that revive the flow of information between limbs and brain. Such feats would previously have been unthinkable in people with spinal cord injuries.

"We think it's a very large milestone," says Claudia Angeli of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville. "There's not been anything like this, and no hope previously for the most severely injured patients, so this is a very important step forward for them."

Read the rest on NewScientist.

Basic wheelchair propulsion

Basic Wheelchair Propulsion by BlazeSports America.

Born from the spirit of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Paralympic Games, BlazeSports America is a national nonprofit organization that enables children and adults with physical disability to realize their potential through sport and healthy lifestyles. BlazeSports provides sports training, competitions, summer camps, leadership training, and recreational opportunities for youth and adults who use wheelchairs, have a visual impairment, have an amputation, or who have a neurological disability such as cerebral palsy through 63 clubs in 29 states including the District of Columbia.

Funding a cure for spinal cord injury

“The target is to raise £1.5m in two years. We've got the world leader in spinal repair here, Professor Geoffrey Raisman, and he’s very optimistic that he’ll get paralysis beaten in the near future.”

David Nicholls, founder Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation

The Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation (NSIF) was founded by chef David Nicholls following an accident in which his son, Daniel, was left paralysed from the arms down. Daniel had been standing in water between the safety flags on Bondi Beach, when he dived into an oncoming wave, hit an unseen sandbank and broke his neck.

There are over 2.5 million people worldwide living with paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. Around 130,000 people every year join them. David was determined to do everything he could to see his son, and others living with spinal injury, walk again. Therefore he set up NSIF.

The charity is focused on raising money in order to fund innovative medical research, that we all hope will lead to a repair and cure for spinal cord injury.

Find out how you can help – Make a Difference.

Finding my feet - Claire Lomas

Over dinner late in 2011, Claire Lomas told her friends she would be walking the London Marathon in 2012 despite not walking a step since the accident which left her paralysed in 2007.



Given Claire's strength of character, not one of her friends were doubting that she would complete - It was just a question of how long it would take!



On 8 May 2012, 17 days after she started, Claire crossed the finish line in London and whilst walking she had been taken into the hearts of the nation.



The 2013 challenge saw Claire take on a 400 mile hand-cycle, visiting schools and talking to children en-route. At the finish on 13 May, she had raise £75,000.



'Inspirational' is the word that has been used many times to describe Claire's achievements.

European Multicenter Study about Spinal Cord Injury

EMSC is an internationally recognized and scientifically successful clinical spinal cord injury network.

Aim: Establishing a multi-center basis for future therapeutic interventions in human spinal cord injury.

Nogo antibody study for spinal cord injury recovery

Project 

Nogo is a protein that only occurs in the central nervous system and prevents nerve regeneration. However, anti-Nogo antibodies make damaged nerve fibres grow.

As part of a worldwide study with pharmaceutical company Novartis, we are currently running tests involving paralysed patients.

Researchers 

Prof. Dr. Armin Curt 

N.N. 

At Balgrist University Hospital 

FAQ on the Nogo antibody study

What is the Nogo antibody study actually about?

The study aims to prove that Nogo antibodies can make damaged nerve fibres regrow in humans (not just animals) and that this growth can lead to partial improvement of the body's functions and sensitivity. At present, this medication is in an early clinical stage and is undergoing pharmacokinetic tests and tests for tolerance (to determine possible side-effects). Treatment involves injecting Nogo antibodies into the spinal fluid and must be administered within 14 days of the accident. The Nogo antibody study is being conducted in Switzerland in close cooperation between the Paraplegic Centre at Balgrist University Hospital, various trauma centres and Novartis. We are the testing centre for Switzerland - our clinic is the only one in Switzerland offering this treatment at present.

The Nogo antibody study is giving people hope. Can people in the acute stage of spinal paralysis be helped?

Unfortunately, we will currently have to disappoint anyone who is hoping that this may be a cure. At best, we can expect improvements to movement and sensitivity, which will be useful to paralysed people in their day-to-day lives. For example, a tetraplegic may require less assistance or a paraplegic may regain some sensitivity in paralysed body parts. For the time being, the aim of the Nogo antibody study is to test tolerance in humans and check for any side-effects.

Read the rest here.

Balgrist Spinal Cord Injury Center

The Spinal Cord Injury Center at the Balgrist University Hospital is an internationally acknowledged rehabilitation center for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). It comprises a 40 beds clinical unit and is linked excellently with its research facilities, located in the same building.

The focus of our research is the optimization and further development of existing and new interventions for patients with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Patients with SCI report that their priorities for recovery are bladder and bowel management and hand function in patients with high cervical lesions. Both also the recovery of walking function is highly appreciated. Indeed, besides other interests, these topics are covered by our research groups.

Our research is in general focussed on how the central nervous system reacts to the condition after SCI by investigating plastic changes in the sensory – motor and autonomic nervous system within the brain and spinal cord. Furthermore, we are interested how training interventions could exploit this plasticity to improve the functional outcome and independence of the patient. One focus of our lab is, in collaboration with the SMS Lab (ETHZ) and Hocoma AG, to develop and/or improve rehabilitation robotics for the upper and lower extremity and investigate their effect on the functional independence of our patients. We are also involved in clinical studies investigating safety of the anti-NOGO antibody, which should increase plasticity and regeneration of the damaged spinal cord (more information).

Improvement in training strategies can only be performed if adequate and sensitive outcome measures are available. Therefore, we develop and test the ability of neurological, neuro-physiological and functional outcome measures to detect small changes in our patients, which is required for clinical studies, but also the relevance of these changes for the functional status of the patient. Indeed, we are the leading center in an international collaboration evaluating outcome measures (www.emsci.org).

The Future of Prosthetics: Mind-Bending Robotic Arms

Researchers have shown that patients paralyzed from the neck down can move robotic arms with their minds, according to a new report in the journal Nature that documents two cases involving brain-stem stroke victims. Margaret Warner discusses the hopes for the technology with Dr. Leigh Hochberg of Massachusetts General Hospital.

Wings for life

The driving forces behind Wings for Life are the two-time motocross world champion Heinz Kinigadner and the founder of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz. In 2003, Kinigadner's son Hannes had a tragic accident which left him tetraplegic.

Moved by the dreadful injury, Kinigadner and Mateschitz invited leading scientists from across the world to come to Salzburg. It soon became clear that, contrary to common opinion, there is legitimate reason to hope that traumatic spinal cord injury can be cured. Ground-breaking discoveries made by Prof. Dr. Sam David in 1981 and by Prof. Dr. Martin Schwab in the early 1990s showed that injured nerve cells in the spinal cord are capable of regeneration after specific types of treatment.

Kinigadner and Mateschitz soon realised that research into spinal cord injury was underfunded. Paralysis is not considered a widespread condition and therefore investing millions in research to help a relatively small number of people was generally considered an unprofitable endeavour.

This realisation prompted Kinigadner and Mateschitz to set up the Wings for Life research foundation – with the goal of finding ways to cure all people affected.