Our Get a Grip clinical trial recently expanded its footprint to South Australia, with the trial welcoming its first participants at a new site based at NeuroMoves in Angle Park.
Get a Grip is an exercise trial designed for individuals with complete or incomplete quadriplegia. It involves targeted breathing training, as well as hand and arm exercises with the use of spinal cord electrical stimulation — all aimed at enhancing respiratory and upper limb function. The study is a vital part of our neurostimulation research collaborative, Project Spark, in partnership with @NeuRA – Neuroscience Research Australia, The CatWalk Trust, Spinal Cord Injuries Australia, and Forward Ability Support. All Project Spark clinical trials including Get a Grip use non-invasive neurostimulation via electrodes placed onto the skin. This enhances the function of the spinal cord by sending electrical pulses into nerves around the injury, facilitating communication between brain and body through surviving neural pathways.
According to Dr Terry Trinh, Research Fellow at NeuRA’s Spinal Cord Injury Research Centre (SCIRC), who led the training for NeuroMoves therapists at the centre alongside Senior Research Fellow Dr Claire Boswell-Ruys, the trial’s expansion to Adelaide was designed to give more people with SCI the opportunity to experience Get a Grip in a community-based rehabilitation gym setting.
“Expanding to South Australia is another milestone in our Get a Grip journey,” said Dr Trinh. “This will enable us to reach more participants and gather more valuable data that will help us understand the potential that neurostimulation has as a possible therapy for SCI.”
“The training and integration of the trial into NeuroMoves’ Angle Park facility was seamless and we are enthusiastic about working with NeuroMoves’s clinical therapists and the local community to make the trial a success,” he continued. 
Currently, one participant has completed the trial, and one is still taking part. Although it is still early days, Sean Samblich, Exercise Physiologist and Team Leader at NeuroMoves Angle Park, has had positive feedback from participants so far.
“So far, we’ve seen that the trial has helped to increase the range of movement in the upper limb and hand function and the participants have also had respiratory benefits as well. We’re looking forward to welcoming many more South Australians with SCI to experience Get a Grip,” he added.
Watch this space for further updates about our expansion plans for Get a Grip and Project Spark, with more clinical trial sites to launch across the Trans-Tasman in 2024. To learn more or get involved contact us at: [email protected]