In 2018 international scientific guidelines were developed to inform people with spinal cord injury (SCI) how much exercise is necessary for important fitness and health benefits. This page contains information about the guidelines and resources to support their implementation in Spain. For information or resources for other countries please visit the European SCI guidelines webpage.
An international group of 29 researchers, clinicians, community organisations and people with spinal cord injury (SCI) have developed scientific guidelines to inform people with SCI how much exercise is necessary for important fitness and health benefits.
This process was led by Professor Kathleen Martin Ginis (University of British Columbia, Canada) and Professor Vicky Tolfrey (Loughborough University, UK).
The guidelines
Joan Úbeda-Colomer outlines the scientific exercise guidelines for people with spinal cord injury (in Spanish).
Further reading
Martin Ginis KA, van der Scheer JW, Amy E. Latimer-Cheung, et al (2018). Evidence-based scientific exercise guidelines for adults with spinal cord injury: an update and a new guideline. Spinal Cord. 56(4):308-321. van der Scheer JW, Martin Ginis KA, Goosey-Tolfrey VL, Hicks AL, Ditor D, West CK, Wolfe DL (2017). The effects of exercise training on fitness and health of adults with spinal cord injury: a systematic review. Neurology. 89(7):736-745. Montesinos-Magraner L, Serra-Añó P, García-Massó X, Ramírez-Garcerán L, González L-M & González-Viejo MÁ (2018). Comorbidity and physical activity in people with paraplegia: a descriptive cross-sectional study. Spinal Cord. 56:52–56.Local contacts
If you have any questions or would like to discuss disseminating the guidelines in your area please contact:
Joan Úbeda-Colomer
Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia
Joan is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia. He completed his PhD (Hons) in Physical Activity and Sport at the University of Valencia and worked as a researcher of the Divina Pastora Chair of Adaptive Sports of the University of Valencia. Joan’s research focuses on the study of the psychosocial and environmental factors associated with physical activity in people with disabilities, in order to generate valuable knowledge that could inform interventions aiming to encourage physically active lifestyles in this population. Currently, he is working on a randomised controlled trial looking at the effects of exercise on health and well-being among adults with spinal cord injury who live with chronic neuropathic or musculoskeletal pain.
Email: Joan.Ubeda-Colomer@uv.es
Email: joan.ubedacolomer@ubc.ca
Lluïsa Montesinos-Magraner
Coordinator of the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital
Lluïsa completed her MD and her specialization in rehabilitation studies in the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona. She then obtained her PhD in medical and rehabilitation sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Lluïsa is currently the coordinator of the Spinal Cord Injury Unit and the Rehabilitation research group at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona. Lluïsa’s research focuses on comorbidity in people with spinal cord injury and on the effects of exercise in improving their quality of life, health and wellbeing. She has also obtained a grant to work on a software to promote physical activity and study its benefits for the cardiovascular health of spinal cord injury population.
Email: lmontesi@vhebron.net
Javier Monforte
Postdoctoral Fellow at Durham University
Javier is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Durham University. He completed his PhD (Hons) in Physical Activity and Sport at the University of Valencia. His research is conducted in the area of disability and physical activity. Specifically, his work sets out to combine narrative and new materialist approaches to provide novel understandings of the role that exercise plays in the lives of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses in society. He is also interested in how, through fictional stories, complex knowledge can be communicated in ways that are accessible and meaningful to different audiences. He is member of the International Society of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise.
Email: javier.monforte@durham.ac.uk
Email: javier.monforte@uv.es
Luis-Millán González
Associate Professor at the University of Valencia
Luis-Millán González received his PhD in sport sciences in 2002 from the University of Valencia (Spain). He is Associate Professor at the University of Valencia and Head of the Laboratory of Human Movement Analysis. His research focuses on exercise and musculoskeletal disorders with an emphasis in physical activity in people with spinal cord injury.
Email: luis.m.gonzalez@uv.es