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Miami, FL 33186
After a spinal cord injury that leaves a person with paralysis, recovery can seem like a giant you have to slay. Unfortunately, the spinal cord doesn’t have the same healing abilities that much of the rest of the body enjoys. However, that doesn’t mean walking again is impossible. We’re going to take a look at some of the factors that come into play. We will also examine some of the therapies that exist that may help you to reach your goal of learning how to walk again.
Whether or not you will be able to walk again depends on a few different factors. The first is the injury itself. The lower on the spine your damage has occurred, the better your prognosis will be. The higher the injury occurs, the bigger the impact it will have. You may recover some function, but you may not make it all the way down to the muscles you need to be able to activate in order to walk.
Another significant factor is the attitude of the patient. Learning to walk again after an SCI can be a lengthy and frustrating process. You need to stay motivated and you have to persevere through the days (and sometimes weeks) when it seems progress has crawled to a halt.
Finally, you have to use the right treatments, practices, and exercises. This may, in part, depend on the spinal cord injury recovery center that you choose. So select your medical facilities wisely. We are going to look at a few of the promising paralysis recovery options that may be available in your area.
One way to choose a spinal cord injury recovery center is to look for a facility with the therapy options you want. Here are a few things that can help improve a person’s chances of reaching their goal to walk again.
One of the first things that you need to do after an SCI is to begin a good routine of exercise and physical therapy. Exercising the muscles that still function can help to keep you strong, improve your cardiovascular health, and assist you to maintain some or all of our independence, regardless of whether you end up being able to walk again.
Physical therapy will help you to perform the right exercises with the proper amount of repetition. The goal is to help your body relearn specific movements that you may otherwise struggle to achieve. Training will also improve blood flow, which is vital for healing. Your body even produces feel-good hormones when you workout regularly. This can help keep you from getting discouraged. You don’t want to give up if reaching your goal seems further away than you expect.
One of the best treatments if your goal is to walk again after a spinal cord injury has to be functional electronic stimulation. You are exercising all of the parts of your body that you can, but what about the parts that you can’t? Electrical stimulation is crucial. It allows the muscles to be stimulated – exercised, as it were – even if you can’t move them on your own.
Since you can’t move the muscles yourself, an electrical current does it for you. It gets the area some exercise. This may eventually lead to being able to move the muscle again on your own by increasing circulation. Once circulation is improved and muscle tone is enhanced, this can combine with your physical therapy to get you moving again.
Being able to walk again is one thing, but training your body to have a natural gait is something else. Gait training is a critical part of reaching your goal to walk again. At iAM ABLE, we use a machine called the Lokomat Pro to help a paralysis recovery patient to improve their ability to walk. The device basically functions as an exoskeleton attached to your legs. At the same time, you are suspended over a treadmill in a harness. The machine moves in a natural walking pattern to retrain your body.
When combined with exercise, physical therapy, and electrical stimulation, a gait training machine can help a person to walk in a natural way following a spinal cord injury. It is also a sustainable form of exercise, which helps improve the effectiveness of this particular therapy.
In recent years, there have been significant advancements in the field of paralysis recovery, particularly in the area of epidural electrical stimulation. This groundbreaking therapy involves the implantation of a device that delivers electrical signals to the spinal cord, helping to activate the neural circuits responsible for movement.
Epidural electrical stimulation has shown promising results in patients with complete spinal cord injuries, offering hope to those who previously believed they may never walk again. The combination of this cutting-edge therapy with traditional exercise, physical therapy, and gait training can further increase the chances of regaining mobility and independence.
The journey to walking again after a spinal cord injury can be long and challenging, but with the right therapies, determination, and support, it is possible for many individuals to make significant progress. By incorporating the latest advancements in paralysis recovery, such as epidural electrical stimulation, along with traditional therapies like exercise, physical therapy, and gait training, individuals with spinal cord injuries can continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in their recovery process.
Stay hopeful, stay committed, and never give up on the goal of walking again. With the right combination of therapies, attitude, and hard work, you might find yourself taking those first steps towards regaining your mobility and independence.
One of the first steps that you have to take is preparing yourself mentally for the journey. Another thing that iAM ABLE has developed to assist paralysis patients is the eBook entitled 7 Unbelievable Important Steps to Take to Thrive After Paralysis. This book can help prepare you for the challenges that lie ahead, regardless of whether you can restore your ability to walk or not.
Your life may never be the same following a spinal cord injury. However, that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. You can accept your new reality and become determined to regain as much independence as possible. This will prepare you to meet the challenges ahead. Our book can help to reduce the time it takes to gain control over your circumstances. It may be just what you need to take care of yourself physically and mentally. There is a long road ahead, but you are up to the challenge! iAM ABLE is here to help you every step of the way.
Grab our free e-book 7 Unbelievably Important Steps to Take to THRIVE after Paralysis by clicking the image below.
