Samejima receives $100,000 grant to study spinal cord stimulation and exercise in people with SCI

Soshi Samejima, DPT, PhD, has received a $100,000 grant from the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research for the project, “Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation Combined with Arm Crank Exercise for Cardiovascular Recovery in Cervical and Upper Thoracic SCI.” This grant is supported through the Paris Patla Endowment Fund.

This study will explore whether spinal cord stimulation can help people with a spinal cord injury (SCI) exercise more easily. People who have spinal cord injuries find it hard to exercise or engage in daily activities because their heart and blood vessel function is impaired. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) can help these individuals be more active, as it seems to improve their blood pressure control and exercise capacity. In this study, Dr. Samejima will run a pilot trial to see if pairing transcutaneous SCS with arm-bike exercise can help people with spinal cord injury recover heart and blood vessel function, and improve activity endurance.