Yes You Can - Fourth Edition - 197

4.c | Exercise Nearly every day we hear or read something about the benefits of regular exercise. The physical and psychological benefits of a fit and healthy lifestyle are well documented and widely publicized. Now that you have a spinal cord injury [SCI] it’s even more important for to you make exercise an integral part of your life. During rehabilitation right after your injury, you’ll be exercising regularly under the guidance of skilled health professionals. After you’re discharged from the hospital, it will be up to you to make exercise a part of your daily life, to maximize your abilities and overall health. Exercise is also important to manage body weight. Many persons with SCI have too much body fat. Paralyzed muscles don’t burn as many calories as contracting muscles, and people with SCI are typically less active than the general population, which results in a tendency to gain weight in the form of fat. Exercise and an active lifestyle are critical to prevent weight gain. Not only does exercise directly burn calories, it also increases your resting metabolism, which means that your body will burn more calories throughout the day. Section 4-b, Nutrition and Weight, has some great ideas for healthy eating habits that have a direct impact on weight management. In addition to reducing risks associated with cardiovascular disease, staying at your ideal weight allows you to move more eﬃciently and lessens the risk of injuries. Exercise also plays an important role in posture. Whether you use a wheelchair full-time or you can stand and walk, speciﬁc exercises can help you maintain the correct body alignment. A neutral upright posture, either sitting or standing, allows the body to move and operate most eﬃciently. It also minimizes discomfort and the risk of injury. In addition to properly adjusted equipment [wheelchair conﬁguration], speciﬁc stretching and strengthening exercises can help you ﬁght the force of gravity, which is the main culprit in postural compromise. [See section 2.c, Limb Preservation and Posture.] Exercise can also help you keep your bones strong, participate in leisure and recreational activities you enjoy, sleep well, and feel good about yourself and your body. [ Section 4 ] 4.c Why Is Exercise So Important? Targeted exercise early in your rehabilitation helps you activate all the muscles that are still working and use them to their greatest potential. SCI causes muscle paralysis, so you have fewer muscles that you can control, and some of those that remain have limited function. Exercise builds strength and endurance in those muscles so you can do as much for yourself as possible. Lifelong exercise will help you keep your muscles strong and conditioned, maximize your function, reduce your risk of injury, and help you stay healthy. Exercise can also prevent cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is common in people with SCI; in fact, it’s the leading cause of death for persons who’ve had a spinal cord injury longer than 30 years and those over 60 years old. The risk of developing cardiovascular disease rises at a faster rate among people with SCI because of cholesterol levels [not enough high-density lipoprotein—HDL, the “good cholesterol”], obesity, inactivity, loss of muscle mass, diabetes, and a related problem called “metabolic syndrome” [obesity, high blood pressure, excess fat in the blood, and a condition similar to diabetes]. Benefits of Specific Kinds of Exercise A well-balanced program for improving ﬁtness and function includes several diﬀerent kinds of exercise. Section 4: Staying Healthy after SCI! | [ 197 ]

Yes You Can - Fourth Edition

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Yes You Can - Fourth Edition