Restorative Therapies | Matt Courson

Matt Courson

Level of Injury: T8
ASIA: A
Cause: ATV accident
Age at Onset: 21

This interview was provided by the Neurotech Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to education and information dissemination regarding neurotechnologies for persons with impairments, health care providers and agencies. Along with improving understanding and access to neurotechnologies, this organization helps the Neurotechnology industry to better understand the needs of their targeted populations.

Home-based exercise and therapy programs are what helped Matt. In April 2006, this college athlete fell down a 20 foot embankment with an ATV. He was recovered from the accident site five hours later and acquired paraplegia from a T-8 level spinal cord injury. After many hours of surgery and recovery he was transferred to the Baptist Rehabilitation Institute in Little Rock, Arkansas. One of his most difficult challenges facing a spinal cord injury was that he could not be active anymore. Being told the proverbial “you will not walk again,” shook up Matt but motivated him to do more.

For this twenty-two year old from a small town in Arkansas, home-based programs are a must. He could not get to outpatient rehabilitation; it had to come to his house. Almost one year post injury and looking to do more therapy, Matt attended Project Walk in Carlsbad, California. There he was first introduced to the FES cycle. “I was impressed with the active therapy. You can really feel the workout.” Then he knew he wanted to ride it more. Unable to afford to pay for the bike themselves, their southeast Arkansas community and family raised the money to purchase the bike for Matt. Insurance coverage was not easy to obtain. Matt’s father, John, was intimately involved with the process along with Restorative Therapies. Together they submitted graphs and progression charts, including medical records. After the initial denial, they came back armed with a strong letter of medical necessity. Six months later, the Courson family was reimbursed 80 percent of the cost for the RT300 FES cycle.

Using this home-based exercise, Matt stays healthy by riding it for one hour every other day. The RT300 FES cycle is accessible so he can hook himself up and gets feedback from the system. He has seen his muscle mass increase, improved circulation, better bladder/bowel management and no pressure sore problems. In December, Matt attended the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Maryland. Here he received an exercise regime consisting of the RT300 FES cycle, surface stimulation for other muscles and leg braces. “If you can afford it [the RT300 FES cycle], it is a must have device. And if you can’t, then raise the money.”

Matt lives in McGhee, Arkansas with his parents. He also maintains an internet blog