WORKING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY: A Framework for Exercise Selection & Execution Level 1 Professional Course

Course overview

It can be overwhelming to work with individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), due to the wide impact of paralysis in the shoulders, arms/hands, core, hips and lower extremities. Where do we begin? By first creating awareness, connection, and strength in the areas that the individual has the most access to (the shoulders), we can leverage this access point to create stability in the trunk and beyond. Following properties of fascial tensegrity, individuals with SCI can access paralyzed areas to become more competent in foundational movement patterns, such as rolling over, transitions to sitting, and general spine, hip and lower extremity control in and out of their wheelchair. In this workshop, participants will explore with demo SCI clients and experience first-hand what it means to work through the fascia to increase stability, control and integration below their level of injury. Participants will develop skills for assessment and learn exercises appropriate for cervical- level and thoracic-level SCI clients, while empowering movement curiosity and confidence for sustainable training programs. In this course, participants will learn: 1) Our Framework for Recovery and how to re-connect clients to their paralyzed areas in an organized progression. 2) An assessment protocol that quickly highlights disconnects. 3) Fascial lines and how to apply them in programs to build trunk stability, hip stability, and efficient gait patterns. 4) Floor-based exercises & progressions to use in session and to assign as home programs. 5) Pilates principles and Bartenieff Fundamentals which ask for full body integration in every exercise. 6) Coaching cues and equipment set- ups (inputs) for quick changes in performance (outputs). 7) How to use equipment (Pilates or mimic in an ABT clinic setting) for faster and more permanent motor learning. 8) Essential movement concepts we should be teaching our clients through our own personal movement experiences. 9) Exercises & programming considerations specific to cervical and thoracic SCI 10) and practice with real SCI client demos!