Mobile App Update Includes Home-Based Exercise Program
SCI-Ex promotes fitness for people with spinal cord injury.
NOTE TO OUR READERS: Shepherd Center discontinued the SCI-Ex app in June 2019, but hopes to launch a new, improved version of it in the future. All SCI-Ex videos can be found here.
Shepherd Center, in collaboration with MobileSmith, has added a home-based exercise program to its free mobile app SCI-Ex, which promotes fitness for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). The update includes video demonstrations of adaptive exercise techniques designed to be used at home, as well as the gym.
MobileSmith, the Raleigh, N.C.-based company that developed SCI-Ex in early 2017 in collaboration with Shepherd Center, said the app is the first of its kind in terms of targeting the fitness needs of people with SCI. Users can access information and videos in a suitable, goal-oriented manner. SCI-Ex was built with accessibility being the major component in the design of the app, while understanding the physical limitations of the user.
The latest updates were developed based on user feedback from the initial version of the app. More than 20 new exercise videos have been added, targeting a variety of muscle groups. Users can access videos either by injury level, fitness goals or the body part they wish to target.
“We have created what we believe to be a more intuitive decision tree to guide users through the exercise selection process,” said Nick Evans, a lead exercise physiologist at Shepherd Center. “Selecting any of these categories will automatically direct individuals to a series of appropriate exercise videos.”
The Exercise Tracker function has also been modified to be more user-friendly and to allow greater flexibility in information users can track. The app also includes an updated version of the Exercise Recommendations section, including a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale to assist users in selecting the training intensities that are appropriate for their individual fitness goals.
The SCI-Ex app is available as a free download in the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores (search "Shepherd Center"). It was developed with funding from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation and Shepherd Center Foundation with videos produced by Brothers Young Productions.
Shepherd Center provides world-class clinical care, research, and family support for people experiencing the most complex conditions, including spinal cord and brain injuries, multi-trauma, traumatic amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and pain. An elite center recognized as both Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems, Shepherd Center is ranked by U.S. News as one of the nation’s top hospitals for rehabilitation. Shepherd Center treats thousands of patients annually with unmatched expertise and unwavering compassion to help them begin again.