Disabilities
Spinal Cord Injury
Project Walk and Spinal Cord Injuries
Project Walk is the premier provider of activity-based recovery. 
Based
on The Project Walk Method, Project Walk has nearly two decades of
experience working with spinal cord injuries and other forms of paralysis. We are the pioneer of an industry, having thousands of hands-on
experience before any other facility claiming to do the same.
As
a result, no one understands the theory of “retraining the nervous system”
better than we do.
Project Walk
Specialists are trained to get the most out of a client’s body by
keeping “recovery” at the forefront of all programs. Our Specialists are
expected to participate in continuing education as it relates to The
Project Walk Method while being exposed to thousands of hands-on hours as
they progress through our Certification program. This ensures that we
provide the highest level of care possible while pushing the boundaries
of spinal cord injury and paralysis recovery.
Recovery
Long ago it was the perception that you must be in the program five days a week to make progress. We have made it easier than ever to attend one of our programs. As we continue to grow our network of franchised facilities, our hope is that one day people won’t have to travel as far to experience Project Walk.In the meantime, Project Walk offers an array of program options from facility programs to home programs which include one-on-one Skype sessions with our Specialists.
To begin one of our world class recovery programs, begin by clicking the "apply now" below.
Anatomy and Physiology
The central nervous system is made up of the spinal cord and the brain. The spinal cord acts as a message way for motor, sensory, and reflex information. Motor information consists of messages sent from the brain to nerves, affecting skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, and glands. Sensory information consists of impulses sent to the brain and are interpreted as pressure, hot, cold, or pain. Reflex information consists of impulses that travel between a sensory stimuli, the spinal cord, and an effector (muscle or gland) resulting in a muscle contraction or gland secretion response. This loop is known as the reflex arc.
The Spine
The spine is made up of 33 vertebrae. There are 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 4 coccygeal vertebrae. Spinal nerves exit out from the spinal cord through the vertebrae. There are 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 1 coccygeal spinal nerves.
Definitions of a Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injury is an insult to the spinal cord resulting in a change in normal motor, sensory, or autonomic function. The clients at Project Walk have all suffered some type of spinal cord injury. A large majority of these injuries resulted from traumatic events such as automobile or motorcycle accidents, diving, or gun shot wounds. Some clients have been paralyzed from inflammation of the spinal cord called transverse myelitis, which can be caused by certain viral diseases (Lyme disease, West Nile virus, influenza, etc). The level of injury ranges from C2 to L2 with diagnoses of complete or incomplete. Much like a fingerprint, no two injuries or clients are alike.The basic classifications of a spinal cord injury are:
Tetraplegia (A term used interchangeably with Quadriplegia)
Injury to the spinal cord in the cervical region with associated loss of muscle strength in all four extremities.Paraplegia
Injury to the spinal cord in the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral segments, including the cauda equina and conus medullaris, are associated with loss of muscle strength in the lower extremities.
