Exercise Training Promotes Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury

Exercise training is considered an effective therapy for spinal cord injury and has been applied to the clinic. It enhances remaining nerve and muscle function, improves function at different levels, from skeletal muscle to the cerebral cortex, and reshapes skeletal muscle structure. Exercise promotes brain remodeling, improves the spinal microenvironment, and protects damaged distal motoneuron functions. This occurs at multiple levels and through various channels, thereby promoting functional recovery. After SCI, distal neuron pathways undergo chemical, electrophysiological, and structural changes, resulting in neurological remodeling. Exercise training post-SCI includes neuronal structure reconstruction, cellular proliferation, activation of metabolism, and regulation of cellular electrophysiological function.

• 1
  Exercise after SCI can improve functional prognosis and induce cerebral cortex recombination in the somatic region, as shown in both animal experiments and clinical studies.
• 2
  Exercise training can alter the electrophysiological properties of transacted spinal motoneurons, such as the hyperpolarization of resting membrane potential and voltage threshold.
• 3
  Paralyzed muscles exhibit decreased fiber diameter, reduced voluntary contraction force, and decreased metabolism, which can be restored by exercise.