Walking up a sidewalk, moving on a cobblestone street or across a lawn: activities that may be basic for many people, but for a wheelchair user can become an obstacle. With this in mind, the team of professionals at the Adult Spinal Cord Injury Clinic at the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (CEPS) promotes a group of exercises for spinal cord injury patients treated by the Service.
The activity takes place weekly, outdoors on Friday mornings, and indoors with complementary exercises on Wednesdays, at CEPS in Macaíba (RN). The planning is carried out and executed by the Physiotherapist and Internship Supervisor, Heloísa Britto, together with physiotherapists from the Multiprofessional Residency in Health Care for People with Disabilities at CEPS. In the Exercise Group, patients are accompanied by professionals while they complete a proposed route with two objectives: to improve mobility on uneven terrain and to improve cardiorespiratory fitness.
Heloísa explains that when the user is already independent and has good mobility for basic daily activities – such as transferring to a wheelchair – it is necessary to exercise mobility in outdoor environments. Exercising outdoors, in addition to improving mobility in the community, also aims to train cardio-respiratory conditioning, which is important for maintaining physical health and good lifestyle habits.
“Patients are already saying that their mobility in outdoor environments is improving. This is essential for their quality of life, so that they can enjoy environments outside their home and participate better in society. Cardiorespiratory fitness is important for this and also for maintaining the integrity of their health,” says Heloísa.
Since 2016, CEPS has been accredited by the Ministry of Health as a Specialized Rehabilitation Center (CER III) in the areas of hearing, physical and intellectual disabilities. People from São Gonçalo do Amarante, Extremoz, Parnamirim, Natal and Macaíba can receive support from the CEPS multidisciplinary team through the Unified Health System (SUS).
Text and photos: Dandarah Filgueira – Journalism Intern / Ascom – ISD
Communication Office
comunicacao@isd.org.br
(84) 99416-1880
Santos Dumont Institute (ISD)
Social organization that maintains ties with the Ministry of Education (MEC) and whose mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions and to contribute to a fairer and more humane transformation of the Brazilian social reality.
