A nurse-coached exercise intervention for 10 people with tetraplegic spinal cord injuries was conducted
over a period of 2 years at an accessible, community-based YMCA using equipment especially designed
for people with mobility issues and neurological deficits. In this single-subject design study, each
participant completed three 3-hour exercise sessions a week for over 6 months. The purpose of the
study was to determine what effects the program would have on increasing muscle strength, improving
quality of life, and increasing self-efficacy after traditional outpatient therapy sessions were no longer
available or affordable. The Sheehy Spinal Cord Injury Functional Improvement via Exercise Model was
constructed at the conclusion of an unpublished pilot study and was tested in this study. Expectations
of the model were that, if a person with a tetraplegic spinal cord injury participated in a coached program
of exercise, muscle strength would increase and functional ability would improve, resulting in greater
independence, a higher sense of self-efficacy, and a higher quality of life. Study results using a
single-subject design of graph-trend analysis showed upward trajectories in muscle strength, quality of life,
and self-efficacy in all study participants regardless of the length of time since his or her original injury.
The results support the efficacy of this nurse-coached program for people with tetraplegic spinal
cord injuries and validate the Sheehy Spinal Cord Injury Functional Improvement via Exercise Model.