What is Strength and Conditioning?

 

Strength and Conditioning is a form of exercise that emphasises more on the building of muscle strength, size and endurance. It requires the muscle to go under any sort of resistance or contraction to hit the goals and results that you are wanting. 

This form of exercises has many health benefits as it improves the following:

• Improve in strength

• Improve in tendon toughness and strength

• Improve ligament

• Improve muscle mass

 

 

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Common health problems surrounding Spinal Cord Injury:

 

Strength and Conditioning is an important factor to keep a healthy lifestyle and to look after your body especially if you’ve had a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). SCI people are at higher risks of getting more health problems, both metabolically and muscular for example:

• Increase in weight

• Increase blood sugar levels

• Decrease joint range of motion

• Increase joint pain

• Increase muscular and skeletal pain

• Increase cholesterol

All these really decrease the enjoyment the SCI patients have every day, so it is very important that strength and conditioning is implemented.

 

 

Benefits from Strength and Conditioning (SCI)

 

There are much greater benefits when a strength and conditioning program is made for a person with a SCI some of the benefits include:

• Increased muscle strength

• Improved blood circulation

• Improved immune system function

• Increased sensation

• Decreased risk of secondary complications eg, (cardiovascular disease, diabetes)

• Increased quality of life

All of these things are extremely vital for a person with SCI to make sure that they are also taken care of their overall health.

 

Exercise Guidelines (SCI)

 

As everyone does there are also exercise guidelines that SCI patients also have to try and aim for, the guidelines are not to different to those who have not had a SCI. So the American College of Sports Medicine has made some guidelines to help keep SCI patients in the best shape and health

• Frequency – 5 days of either resistance training, endurance training and flexibility training as well

• Intensity – 3-5 days of moderate endurance training, 2-3 days of resistance training per week and flexibility training should be aimed to be done every day. For extra health benefits high or vigorous should be completed 3 days per week as well

• Duration – 30 to 60 minutes per session