On July 12th 2005, Heather Tice’s life changed forever. Heather was in the passenger seat of a car driving down a steep hill with her seatbelt unbuckled. The next thing she knew she was laying on the ground, covered in blood, unable to feel her own legs. Heather would later find out that she had received an injury to the C7 section of her spinal cord, which is located in the neck. Heather’s injury was incomplete, so despite the height of the injury she retains the use of her upper body (Car accident causes). Every year approximately 12,000 people are newly affected by spinal cord injuries, and approximately 229,000 are living with an existing spinal cord injury (Spinal cord injury). Spinal cord injuries are a complex type of injury that is difficult to treat, but there are several methods through which physical therapy and technology can help patients with a spinal cord injury. A spinal cord injury refers to any traumatic injury to the nervous tissue that runs throughout the spine. Spinal cord injuries can be in one of two basic types, incomplete, or complete (A brief overview). In a complete spinal cord injury there is a total loss of function in everything below the area of the injury. In an incomplete spinal cord injury the patient retains some function. In some cases, with a minor injury the patient may even suffer no loss of function at all. Other effects of spinal cord injuries include lack of ability to regulate automatic bodily functions, such as body temperature and blood pressure, muscular and bone degradation, and kidney stones (A brief overview). Muscular and bone degeneration is something that also occurs in people who spend long periods of time in a low or null gravity environment, such as astronauts, and for muc... ... middle of paper ... ...July 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. . Lam, Tania. Et al. "Using Robot-Applied Resistance to Augment Body-Weight--Supported Treadmill Training in an Individual With Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury." Physical Therapy 91.1 (2011): 143-51. Print. Shute, Nancy. "Spinal Implant Spurs Motion In Paralyzed Man : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. 20 May 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. . "Spinal Cord Injury Facts." Foundation for Spinal Cord Injury Prevention, Care & Cure. June 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. . Valent, Linda J.M. Et al. "Effects of Hand Cycle Training on Physical Capacity in Individuals With Tetraplegia: A Clinical Trial." Physical Therapy 89.10 (2009): 1051-060. Print.
Downing uses the strength from her competitive athlete days to help her learn to live with paralysis on her own terms. From an early age, the author became involved in sports, competing on the swim team, diving and gymnastics; however, in her early twenties cycling became her beloved sport of choice. During a conversation with her physical therapist, Downing quickly found out the hardest part of her injury is
The car accident could damage ones spinal cord if it was crushed or hit hard enough. If the spinal cord is severed, the peripheral nerves may detach from the spinal cord. Detachment may lead to pressure applied by other organs or bones. The wreck may cause broken bones that would compress the spi...
Not all people born with spina bifida have the same needs, so treatment will be different for each person. Some people have problems that are more serious than others. Therapeutic recreation services can be used to strengthen the upper body, help increase postural alignment, and prevent obesity. Excersizes like chair aerobics, strength training, swimming, and archery can help develop shoulder and arm strength. Aerobic activities such as swimming to control body weight and activities that require full range of motion (such as tossing a ball) can also be used to help people. Some may need to maintain upper body strength when a wheelchair is the primary method of getting around. Through play, sports and recreation experiences, TRSs encourages friendship development and social relationships. TRSs can assist young people to adapt to their means of mobility and the strength they need to maintain the ability to move on a daily basis. (Carter p. 204
People have created a hectic and busy world, that includes careers and daily activities that require physical activity. While attempting to attain the required physical conditioning, people often take chances with their personal health as they try to stretch their physical limits. Sometimes, people can surpass their current limits and form new boundaries; however, other times people are not so fortunate. These unfortunate times often lead to injury, including workplace accidents, sporting incidents, disease afflictions, as well as others; any or all of which could bring about the need of rehabilitation services. Many of these require physical therapy, which includes assisting injured or otherwise impaired patients as they recover to their pre-injury status or to recover as much as is physically possible. The field of physical therapy is a choice career for those who enjoy helping people recover from injury, and the following text will provide reason for choosing this profession.
Physical therapy is a fairly new practice of rehabilitation. The treatments were not widely practiced until after World War I when soldiers returned home with injuries that were able to be rehabilitated by this therapy. The profession immediately began to grow and has been popular in the U. S. since that time. The vocation is also expected to c...
Based upon previous knowledge of spinal cord function, what results from the testing were consistent with a spinal cord injury?
The spinal cord is a major channel in the body where motor and sensory information travels from the brain to the body. It has white matter that surrounds a central gray matter. The gray matter is where most of the neuronal cells are located. Injury to the spinal cord will affect the conduction of information across any part of the spinal cord where the damage is located (Maynard et al., 1997). This will often result in permanent disability of a certain muscle or region of the body (Meletis et al., 2008) and a loss of tissue where the damage is located (Peng et al., 2009). As of now, there is no treatment for spinal cord injury expect for steroids. All steroids can do is provide protect of the spinal cord from secondary injury for specific patients (Peng et al., 2009).
Opening my eyes to this concept has completely turned my treatment techniques upside down! I mean this quite literally. I find I usually get my best results by treating the opposite end of the body from the symptoms. To say this approach is “unorthodox” in the world of physical therapy is an understatement. I am hopeful the observations, ideas, and concepts I present in this text will help us approach rehab more holistically through the conventional vehicle of exercise, but with a new intention.
As an occupation in the medical field, physical therapists have a very long strenuous list of duties. That list includes working with patients with limited use of their bodies due to injury or disability and improving mobility while reducing pain. Physical therapists provide care to people of all ages who have functional problems such as sprains, strains, fractures, arthritis, amputations, stroke, cerebral palsy, other injuries relating to sports, other injuries relating to work, other neurological disorders, and various other conditions. Some ways that physical therapist go about reducing pain levels of their patients is by using exercises, stretching, hands on therapy, and special equipment that is designed to help increase their mobility, prevent further injury, and smooth out the...
Gabboth, Tim. "Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). Feb2012, Vol. 26 Issue 2, P487-491. 5p." N.p., n.d. Web.
"Physical Therapy." Mayo School of Health Sciences. Mayo Clinic, 25 June 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Regular exercise program is known to be beneficial for people with SCI. Exercise program designed for SCI patients is somewhat similar to the program for stroke survivors. However, it should be noted that the concerns for each condition are different, so there must be focus on specific requirements for the individual. Stroke survivors’ disability depends on the area of the brain that is damaged, whereas the disability of individuals with SCI depends on the damage in their spine. Therefore, detailed assessment of the spinal lesion must be carried out before designing exercise program for a person with SCI (Jacobs & Nash, 2004). An exercise program that combines mobility activities, aerobic resistance, strength, coordination, recreation, and relaxation can improve their functionality and fitness (Durán, Lugo, Ramírez & Lic, 2001). The individual should have 3 sessions per week with the total of 120 minutes (Durán, Lugo, Ramírez & Lic, 2001). The duration of each session can be shorter at first and increased over time to avoid injury and overwhelming stress for the patients. Some very common modalities of exercise for this group include arm crank ergometry and swimming. This is because SCI often causes paralysis and weakness in the lower limbs, which makes sense to place more focus on the upper extremity exercise modes in order to achieve the desired fitness level (Nash,
2. Fitzgerald, GK.; Piva, SR.; Gil, AB.; Wisniewski, SR.; Oddis, CV.; & Irrgang, JJ. Agility and perturbation training techniques in exercise therapy for reducing pain and improving function in people with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized clinical trial. Phys Ther. April 2011;91;4: 452-469.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a medically complex and life-disrupting condition. SCI is one of the most severe injuries which bring sudden and profound life changes that have global effects (Somers, 1992). According to World Health Organization (WHO) report (2011), word wide 20-40 people per million of populations acquire spinal injury every year. It is estimated that in the United States (US) each year there are about 11,000 new cases of SCI and there are currently about 250,000 persons alive with SCI, because of lack of improvements in medical care and survival. The prevalence of people living with SCI has increased, and it is predicted that there will be greater and greater numbers of older patients with SCI (Spinal cord injury: facts and
Spinal cord injuries can range from minor, meaning the injured will recover, to very severe injuries that can cause significant damage to someone’s body and self-esteem. Approximately 12,000 people per year experience spinal cord injuries in the United States. 50% of all spinal cord injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30 and 80% of all spinal cord injuries happen to males. The most common accidents that cause spinal cord injuries are motor vehicle accidents followed by falls, violence and then sports. There are two major types of spinal cord injuries, complete spinal cord injury and incomplete spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injuries can also cause other complications including respiratory, bladder control, skin sensation, circulation problems, muscle tone, sexual health, pain, depression, scoliosis, UTI and spasticity. Complete spinal cord injuries occur when one loses complete feeling and sensation typically resulting in paralysis below the injury. Incomplete spinal cord injuries mean there is still some feeling and movement below the injury site. One can experience different types of incomplete spinal cord injuries including anterior cord syndrome, central cord syndrome, brown-sequard syndrome, nerve cell injuries and spinal contusions. Currently there is no cure for spinal cord injuries. Causes of SCI: