Exercise options for quadriplegics

Quadriplegics can engage in aerobic exercise of the cardiovascular system, and in electrical stimulation, known as Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), to exercise their arm muscles, and leg muscles. Abdominal FES is mentioned in the section on Bowel maintenance.

Let's talk for a bit about range of motion and massage. "Passive" range of motion is the process whereby a person's joints are moved by someone (or something) else. The intent is to prevent those joints, the muscles and connective tissue around them, from seizing up, or the limits of motion from reducing. A process known as heterotopic ossification occurs in non-ambulatory people with spinal cord injuries. That is a process whereby additional calcium deposits occur in the soft or connective tissues, especially around the joints. I was originally told that this ossification can also impair range of motion. That was the reason I was told I needed passive range of motion exercises when I was newly injured. You might want to discuss with your doctor or therapist whether passive range of motion helps to prevent the calcium build up.
 
The idea behind passive range of motion, I'm told, is to keep a body in a state of preparedness, for the day when medical science comes up with a reliable cure for damaged central nervous tissue. In 1985 my rehabilitation doctor shared an insightful observation. He said, "You can spend your life waiting for and preparing for a cure, or you can get on with living." I found that to be excellent advice. It has shaped my approach to LIFE in a wheelchair.
 
Things already take longer for us. I can't imagine spending an extra hour, or even half hour, a day or several times a week, doing physical rehabilitation (passive range of motion). That is not to say that it couldn't be beneficial to other folks (or to me). It's just not for me. It doesn't seem worth the effort (I could have spent over 8,000 hours now, preparing for a cure). I suppose my mindset has been that if they come up with a viable cure, I'll deal with my joints and range of motion then. I don't feel especially tight, and don't have persistent pain, even in the joints where I have full sensation. I'm comparatively very healthy.
 
Sitting up in a wheelchair for 15 to 20 hours a day can cause my back and shoulders to feel a little bit tight, but that's to be expected. I used to get an hour and a half massage, once or twice a week. Most often, a massage therapist would come to my home, and massage my back, arms, shoulders, neck, and head, while I sat in my chair. It felt wonderful, and I would sleep like a brick afterward (and sometimes during). But after a while I came to understand that when muscles are stretched, they eventually contract to their original state, and can sometimes contract even tighter than before being stretched. Though the massages felt great, and were very relaxing, I began to feel tighter and tighter, a day or so after; to the point where the massage wasn't worth enduring the ensuing tightness (they were also fairly expensive). My muscles were getting "addicted" to the massage, if you will.
 
Massage therapy helped me through some rough days, and was a good thing in many ways (met some great people who are therapists too). But now I don't get them, because I don't need them. You may want to think about trying massages, from a certified massage therapist. But one of the dangers I was warned about in rehab is that massage can tend to dislodge blood clots, and "throw" them into the circulatory system, which can then result in heart attack or stroke. Blood clots, as you may know, are more prevalent in folks who are inconvenienced by a wheelchair. That's because we're sedentary, and our blood tends to pool. But I was never really worried about blood clots, because I'm fortunate to have surprisingly low in cholesterol levels (I must have "the gene"). Whatever you do, get an opinion from your doctor (and maybe a second opinion) before you undertake any changes that may affect your health.
 
Reference: http://www.wheelchairlife.net/Recreation_Things_To_Do_For_People_In_Wheelchairs.html