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Case Reports
. 2023 Aug 22;11(3):107.
doi: 10.3390/diseases11030107.

Is There a New Road to Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation? A Case Report about the Effects of Driving a Go-Kart on Muscle Spasticity

Giacomo Farì  1   2 , Maurizio Ranieri  1 , Riccardo Marvulli  1 , Laura Dell'Anna  1 , Annatonia Fai  1 , Lucrezia Tognolo  3 , Andrea Bernetti  4 , Laura Caforio  1 , Marisa Megna  1 , Ernesto Losavio  5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Is There a New Road to Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation? A Case Report about the Effects of Driving a Go-Kart on Muscle Spasticity

Giacomo Farì et al. Diseases. .

Abstract

Background: Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a neurological disorder that causes a traumatic anatomical discontinuity of the spinal cord. SCI can lead to paraplegia, spastic, or motor impairments. Go-karting for people with SCI is an adapted sport that is becoming increasingly popular. The purpose of this case report is to shed light on the effects of driving a go-kart on a patient with SCI-related spasticity and to deepen understanding of the possible related role of whole-body vibration (WBV) and neuroendocrine reaction.

Methods: The patient was a 50-year-old male with a spastic paraplegia due to traumatic SCI. He regularly practiced go-kart racing, reporting a transient reduction in spasticity. He was evaluated before (T0), immediately after (T1), 2 weeks after (T2), and 4 weeks after (T3) a go-kart driving session. On both sides, long adductor, femoral bicep, and medial and lateral gastrocnemius spasticity was assessed using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), and tone and stiffness were assessed using MyotonPro.

Results: It was observed that a go-kart driving session could reduce muscle spasticity, tone, and stiffness.

Conclusions: Go-kart driving can be a valid tool to obtain results similar to those of WBV and hormone production in the reduction of spasticity.

Keywords: adapted sports; endocrine system; musculoskeletal; spasticity; therapeutic strategies; whole-body vibration.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A go-kart driving session on the track.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Controls adapted to the steering for SCI drivers.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Left medial gastrocnemius landmark labeled with a harmless marker.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Left medial gastrocnemius tone and stiffness evaluation using MyotonPro.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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