Realtime physical simulator for virtual reality sailing by patients with spinal cord injury: an innovative voyage.

Background: The aim of this study was to explore whether sail training using a VSail® simulator would allow people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) to learn to sail in a safe controlled environment and then sail competently on the water in wind of moderate strength (12 knots). A battery of physical tests and questionnaires was used to evaluate possible improvements in health and well-being as a consequence of participation in the trial.

Methods: Twenty participants were recruited with the assistance of their physicians from The International Center for Spinal Cord Injury, Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Exercise in the Aquatic Environment for Patients With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury and Invasive Appliances: Successful Integration and Therapeutic Interventions.

Objective: Our primary objectives of this initial "proof-of-principle" trial were to evaluate the interventions used in skilled aquatic therapy and to identify any clinical benefits for individuals with spinal cord injuries who use invasive appliances including pressure injury dressings, suprapubic catheters, indwelling catheters, colostomy bags, and tracheostomy tubes.

Design: This is a retrospective chart review of patients with chronic spinal cord injuries using invasive appliances who had also undergone skilled aquatic therapy.

Results: Forty-nine patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries demonstrated scores showing statistically significant improvement using their total mobility and self-care of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure III (P ≤ 0.

Competency-Based Curriculum Development to Meet the Needs of People With Disabilities: A Call to Action.

People with disabilities constitute 22.2% of the population in the United States, and virtually all physicians have people with disabilities in their clinical practice across a wide range of diagnostic groups. However, studies demonstrate that people with disabilities are inadequately served by the health care system, leading to high costs and poor outcomes.

Independent sailing with high tetraplegia using sip and puff controls: integration into a community sailing center.

Background: We are continually rediscovering how adapted recreational activity complements the rehabilitation process, enriches patients' lives and positively impacts outcome measures. Although sports for people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) has achieved spectacular visibility, participation by high cervical injuries is often restricted due to poor accessibility, safety concerns, lack of adaptability, and high costs of technology.

Methods: We endeavor to demonstrate the mechanisms, adaptability, accessibility, and benefits the sport of sailing creates in the rehabilitative process.

Activity-Based Restorative Therapies after Spinal Cord Injury: Inter-institutional conceptions and perceptions.

This manuscript is a review of the theoretical and clinical concepts provided during an inter-institutional training program on Activity-Based Restorative Therapies (ABRT) and the perceptions of those in attendance. ABRT is a relatively recent high volume and intensity approach toward the restoration of neurological deficits and decreasing the risk of secondary conditions associated with paralysis after spinal cord injury (SCI). ABRT is guided by the principle of neuroplasticity and the belief that even those with chronic SCI can benefit from repeated activation of the spinal cord pathways located both above and below the level of injury.