Funded by a grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, the Orlando Health Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation has partnered with several local fitness organizations to create a free, virtual curriculum and fitness schedule for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The goal of this project is to provide a hybrid of virtual and in-person adaptive exercise opportunities to individuals with SCI in Central Florida.

Through this project we are hosting free, online adaptive fitness sessions and exercise challenges for individuals with SCI who are at home. As part of the grant, we will be providing participants with simple, at-home fitness items such as resistance bands/tubes and grips to use alongside the videos. Our fitness partners are also able to host individuals in-person at their locations. The idea is that individuals can begin to workout at home, and eventually can make a warm handoff to a local gym to exercise at a facility in the community to continue to promote their health and fitness needs.

We established this program to provide a bridge between in-person and online fitness opportunities within the SCI community. We expect to impact the health and quality of life of individuals with SCI who remain at home and provide them with a virtual and in-person wellness community to better challenge them in addition to promoting their health and wellness. We also aim to introduce individuals with SCI in Central Florida to our local fitness partners who have accessible locations for individuals to workout in-person.