Most people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) want to work yet need support, training and vocational rehabilitation services to help them obtain and keep a job. These sources of support may help to overcome many barriers that are outside the individual’s control, such as financial and health care issues, accessibility, ...
Keys to Successful Aging
People with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are living longer. As a result, they may need to find ways to promote and maintain their health throughout their lives. For people with an SCI, successful aging involves taking care of physical, emotional, and social health; maintaining as much independence ...
People with SCI are more likely than the general population to have health problems related to not being active. Regular exercise can help to reduce the risk of health problems after SCI.
Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD), sometimes referred to as Autonomic Hyperreflexia, is a potentially life-threatening medical condition that many people with spinal cord injury (SCI) experience when there is a pain or discomfort below their level of injury, even if the pain or discomfort cannot be felt.
What is sexuality?
Your sexuality is what guides your natural desire to bond with others through love, affection, and intimacy. Here are a few ways you might express your sexuality.
Emotional connections — feeling close to someone.
Physical contact — acts of touching such as holding hands, hugging, kissing, cuddling, and sexual activity.
Sexual ...
What you need to know?
You may be able to continue driving safely again, depending on how serious your injury is and how much function you have regained.
If you can drive, you may need to buy a vehicle that suits your unique needs after the injury.
Vehicles can be altered with special ...
What you need to know?
Your ability to control urine release may be limited because of injury. You may not be able to stop urine from flowing out of your body, or you may not be able to release urine from your body.
The inability to control the release of urine is ...
What you need to know?
Your spinal cord injury (SCI) might limit your ability to control your urine. You might not be able to stop urine from flowing, or you might not be able to release it.
Uncontrolled urination or inability to empty your bladder can have a negative effect on your ...
Difficulty walking is very common following a spinal cord injury (SCI). People with SCI may have gait training included in their therapy plans. Gait training is practicing walking with assistive devices, braces and other types of support as needed.
Spasticity is the uncontrolled tightening or contracting of the muscles that is common in individuals with spinal cord injuries. About 65%–78% of the SCI population have some amount of spasticity, and it is more common in cervical (neck) than thoracic (chest) and lumbar (lower back) injuries.
Depression is common and can affect anyone. Depression is even more common in the spinal cord injury (SCI) population. Estimated rates of depression among people with SCI range from 11% to 37%.
Transferring in and out of your wheelchair puts higher stress on your arms and shoulders than anything else you do on a regular basis. Learning the correct way to transfer is extremely important in order to keep your arms functioning and pain-free.
Pain is a serious problem for many people with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Pain after SCI can occur in parts of the body where there is normal sensation (feeling) as well as areas that have little or no feeling.
Objectives: To determine the efficacy of a web-based transfer training module at improving transfer technique across 3 groups: web-based training, in-person training (current standard of practice), and a waitlist control group (WLCG); and secondarily, to determine subject factors that can be used to predict improvements in transfer ability after training.
Design: ...
Background: Proper transfer technique is associated with improved biomechanics and decreased pain and pathology. However, many users do not use proper technique, and appropriate assessment and training are needed to address these deficits. The transfer assessment instrument (TAI) 4.0 was designed to meet those needs and improve on past versions ...
Objectives: To investigate the relation of gait training (GT) during inpatient rehabilitation (IPR) to outcomes of people with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).
Design: Prospective observational study using the SCIRehab database.
Setting: Six IPR facilities.
Participants: Patients with new SCI (N=1376) receiving initial rehabilitation.
Interventions: Patients were divided into groups consisting of those who ...
The pressure relief technique you use will depend on your level of injury, the type of wheelchair you use and how much movement and strength you have in your arms and shoulders.
Tilting or reclining
If you are unable to perform independent pressure reliefs, you can use a power tilt wheelchair for ...
What does the respiratory system do?
Your respiratory system (or pulmonary system) is responsible for breathing. This system enables you to inhale oxygen into your blood and exhale carbon dioxide. Your body needs the oxygen to survive, and carbon dioxide must be removed to avoid the build-up of acid in your ...
Introduction
Wheelchair breakdowns can injure wheelchair users and limit mobility and social participation. Poor wheelchair maintenance increases the risk of wheelchair breakdowns and personal injury or death, and increases the costs of medical care. The number of users injured from wheelchair breakdowns doubled from 1991 to 2016.
According to a 2016 study, ...