Spinal cord injury rehabilitation Spinal cord injury is caused when nerves in the spinal cord are damaged. There are various different ways this can happen. In spinal cord injuries where the nerve has been severed its called complete spinal cord injury. Where the nerve has only been partially damaged it’s called “incomplete” spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury causes muscles to weaken and slows down the blood circulation of the lower body. This means that health problems often occur with paraplegics. By training the legs positively contribute to spinal cord injury rehabilitation. The BerkelBike offers spinal cord injured the possibility to actively and enjoyably train their legs on a daily basis.

BerkelBike and Complete Spinal cord injury The BerkelBike was first invented to help spinal cord injured have a more complete and active training. Inactivity causes many problems; it causes pressure sores and can lead to obesity. The BerkelBike has shown that it can not only help in the rehabilitation of spinal cord injuries but prevent many other affections. The BerkelBike is a tricycle that can be used daily and benefits the overall health and stamina. But the BerkelBike can also be used to travel, like many other handbikes. It’s also possible to train indoors with a home trainer. The virtual reality software makes this very attractive.		Effects There is a great health benefit when using the BerkelBike, this is because the BerkelBike uses both the arms as well as the legs to move. The leg muscles are the biggest muscles in the human body. These muscles have to be trained in order for the body to achieve an optimal physical fitness. The blood circulation of the lower body will improve and help in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. The chances of developing pressure sores will greatly decrease too. And it will help prevent the loss of muscles. Physical activity doesn’t only have a positive effect on the body but it does so on the mind too. It gives you a good and healthy feeling throughout the whole day.

		The Impuls System The BerkelBike can be equipped with electrical stimulation for spinal cord injury rehabilitation. This means that electrical impulses are sent through electrodes to the nerve endings in the muscles. These impulses will make the muscles contract. The system has been configured to send out the right signals to contract the muscles enabling the simulation of cycling. Users The BerkelBike is already in use by many spinal cord injured. Some of these users with complete or almost complete spinal cord injury have offered to answer your questions through e-mail. Others have made a video about the BerkelBike, you can see one of these made by Alexander who has complete paraplegia on the bottom of the page. Check out the video of Jan where he cycles from his electrical wheelchair. You can see that the BerkelBike is ideal for people with a high spinal cord injury. Paul from Engeland has told a fellow stranger about his experience with the BerkelBike in an email. This email is placed here. The complete user list can be accessed here.

Alexander tells about his spinal cord injury and BerkelBike

Further information

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To see if the BerkelBike Impuls system suits you, please fill in the questionnaire here.