Immediate Resistance Training Appears Safe for Gunshot Spinal Cord Injuries

Strategic Insights -

Research conducted at the University of California Harbor-UCLA Medical Center suggests that initiating resistance training exercises within three weeks of a gunshot spinal cord injury is associated with no neurologic decline or need for secondary surgery. A retrospective review of 114 patients from a national spinal cord injury rehabilitation center was conducted, and the results indicate that immediate resistance training is safe for patients with such injuries. The study found no difference in ASIA grade improvement rates across either group, suggesting that early resistance training does not negatively impact rehabilitation outcomes.

Key Takeaways:

  • A retrospective case-control study of 114 patients with gunshot spinal cord injuries found that initiating resistance training exercises within three weeks of injury was associated with no neurologic decline or need for secondary surgery.
  • The study was conducted at the University of California Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and involved a review of patients from a national spinal cord injury rehabilitation center.
  • The primary endpoints included change in American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade and need for spinal surgery following resistance training exercises completed during the acute inpatient rehabilitation stay.
  • The mean follow-up interval was 2.5 ± 0.3 years for the entire study population, and no patients required secondary surgery for late deformity correction or any other reason.
  • There was no difference in ASIA grade improvement rates across either group, suggesting that early resistance training does not negatively impact rehabilitation outcomes.
  • The study concluded that immediate resistance training as part of a rehabilitation regimen for gunshot spinal cord injury appears safe.
  • The research has been peer-reviewed and published in the journal Spinal Cord.

Statistics:

  • 114 patients were included in the study.
  • The mean follow-up interval was 2.5 ± 0.3 years.
  • No patients sustained a neurologic decline or required secondary surgery for late deformity correction or any other reason.
  • The study found no difference in ASIA grade improvement rates across either group (7.4% versus 7.5%).
  • The primary endpoints were change in ASIA grade and need for spinal surgery following resistance training exercises completed during the acute inpatient rehabilitation stay.

Sources:

  • "Immediate supraphysiologic load bearing of the spine appears safe after gunshot-related spinal cord injury: a case-control study." Spinal Cord. 2025.
  • "Findings from University of California Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in the Area of Spinal Cord Injury Described (Immediate supraphysiologic load bearing of the spine appears safe after gunshot-related spinal cord injury: a case-control study)." Health & Medicine Week. October 31, 2025; p 432.