Faculty Book
MARK S. NASH, Ph.D., FACSM
Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery
Physiological assessment of secondary complications following SCI:
electrical stimulation, cardiopulmonary physiology, exercise biochemistry
Research
Interests
One of the enduring goals of the Miami Project has been to test and implement treatment strategies that optimize the long term health of persons with SCI. One strategy employed to attain this goal has been to investigate physical activity as a means of preventing medical complications that arise from physical deconditioning. In past years these studies have examined how electrically-stimulated cycling and ambulation exercise affect fitness levels in persons with tetraplegia and paraplegia. The findings of these studies support our belief that physical activity can improve fitness, heart function, and peripheral circulation, and that exercise training programs benefit the structure and function of muscle. Both direct and indirect evidence obtained from these studies suggests that exercise lowers physical and emotional stress by reducing the release of stress hormones from the adrenal glands, or altering the way in which target tissues respond to stress challenges.
There is widespread concern that the population of persons who survive SCI is aging, and that the passing of time presents an entirely new set of physical and health challenges for those who were injured years ago. We have anticipated these changes and targeted some of our research to address the effects of exercise on the functions of the heart and circulation for those who are older than 40 years. This research has also examined the naturally-occurring decline in shoulder joint function that accompanies aging with SCI as well as the disposition to heart and circulatory diseases. Results of these trials have been very encouraging, and confirm that exercise interventions are successful in reversing longstanding deconditioning and muscle weakness. Subjects involved in these trials have also benefitted by improved cardiac function at rest and during activity, and through blood lipid changes that slow the natural course of heart disease. As in our previously published findings, this work holds great promise for improving health and function while reducing disease susceptibility for those who live with SCI.
Video Introduction
Nash, M.S. and A.J. Mendez. A Guideline-Driven Assessment of Need for Cardiovascular Disease Risk Intervention in Persons with Chronic Paraplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 88:751-7, 2007.
Nash, M.S., N.M. Meltzer, S.C. Martins, P. Burns, S.D. Lindley, and E.C. Field-Fote. Nutrient Supplementation Post Ambulation in Persons with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Case Series. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 88(2):228-233, 2007.
Nash, M.S., I.van de Ven, N. van Elk, M.S. and B.M. Johnson. Effects of Circuit Resistance Training on Fitness Attributes and Upper Extremity Pain in Middle-Aged Men with Paraplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 88(1):70-5, 2007.
Nash, M.S. and D.R. Gater, Jr. Exercise To Reduce Obesity in SCI. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil 12(4):76-93, 2007.
Nash, M.S. Central Nervous System: Spinal Cord Injury. In: Exercise in Rehabilitation Medicine, pp. 191-205, W.R. Frontera, D.M. Dawson, and D.M. Slovik (Eds). Human Kinetic Publishers, Champaign, IL, 2006.
Nash, M.S. Exercise As A Health-Promoting Activity Following Spinal Cord Injury. J Neurol Phys Ther 29(2):87-103, 2005
Nash, M.S., J.deGroot, A. Martinez-Arizala, and A.M. Mendez. Evidence for an Exaggerated Post-Prandial Lipemia in Chronic Paraplegia. J Spinal Cord Med. 28:320-5, 2005.
Nash, M.S., and R.M. Goldberg. Comparison of the Efficacy and Safety of Atorvastatin Initiated at Different Starting Doses in Patients with Dyslipidemia. Evidence-Based Cardiovascular Med 9:100-1, 2005.
Nash, M.S., B.M. Johnson, and P.L. Jacobs. Combined Hyperlipidemia In A Patient With Tetraplegia: Ineffective Risk Reduction Following Atorvastatin Monotherapy. J Spinal Cord Med 27(5):484-7, 2004.
Nash, M.S., P.L. Jacobs, B.M. Johnson, and E. Field-Fote. Metabolic and Cardiac Responses to Robotic-Assisted Locomotion in Motor-Complete Tetraplegia. J Spinal Cord Med 27:78-82, 2004.
Last updated: October, 2007
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