scholarly journals A Primary Care Provider’s Guide to Wheelchair Prescription for Persons With Spinal Cord Injury

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-107
Author(s):  
Erin Michael ◽  
Terin Sytsma ◽  
Rachel E. Cowan
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Life Function

The wheelchair is an essential tool for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). When the capacity and fit of a wheelchair is matched to the needs and abilities of an individual with SCI, health, function, community participation, and quality of life are maximized. Throughout an individual’s life, function and health status can decline (or improve), necessitating a new wheelchair and/or seating components (eg, cushions and backrests). Additionally, a patient’s current wheelchair may be identified as a factor contributing to a health concern or functional deficit, again necessitating wheelchair adjustments. Primary care physicians often manage the complex and lifelong medical needs of individuals with SCI and play a key role in wheelchair evaluation and prescription. This article provides a broad overview of indicators that a new wheelchair is needed, describes the wheelchair prescription process, identifies important team members, reviews the major wheelchair components, and provides guidance to match components to patients’ needs and abilities.

scholarly journals A Primary Care Provider’s Guide to Social Justice, the Right to Care, and the Barriers to Access After Spinal Cord Injury

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-90
Author(s):  
Angela Kuemmel ◽  
Josh Basile ◽  
Anne Bryden ◽  
Ngozi Ndukwe ◽  
Kelley Brooks Simoneaux
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Barriers To Access ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Right

People living with spinal cord injury (SCI) face numerous barriers to primary care. This article identifies these barriers as social justice issues to emphasize their significance and the inequality of primary care received by people with SCI. Primary care providers have a responsibility to provide equal and accessible care to all patients and to remediate any obstacles to care. Understanding the well-documented barriers of competence, physical, policy and procedural, communication, and attitudes impacting primary care for people with SCI will bring much-needed awareness and opportunity for meaningful change. This article is a call to action for social justice within primary care and provides helpful recommendations for removing and addressing barriers. Better health care outcomes for people with SCI are possible if primary care physicians and providers become social justice advocates for their patients with SCI.

scholarly journals A Primary Care Provider’s Guide to Shoulder Pain After Spinal Cord Injury

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-196
Author(s):  
Sara J. Mulroy ◽  
Luke Hafdahl ◽  
Trevor Dyson-Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Shoulder Pain ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Upper Extremities ◽  
Acute Injury ◽  
Shoulder Injuries ◽  
Postural Alignment ◽  
Cord Injury

Shoulder pain is a common occurrence after spinal cord injury (SCI) and can have significant negative effects on health and function as many individuals with SCI are reliant on their upper extremities for mobility and self-care activities. Shoulder pain after SCI can be caused by acute injury or chronic pathology, but it is most often related to overuse injuries of the rotator cuff. Both acute strain and chronic overuse shoulder injuries in persons with SCI typically result from increased weight bearing on the upper extremities during transfers, weight-relief raises, and wheelchair propulsion, which are often performed in poor postural alignment owing to strength deficits. This article discusses management of patients with SCI who present with shoulder pain from the perspective of primary care physicians including evaluation and diagnostic procedures, interventions appropriate for both acute and chronic shoulder pain, and strategies for prevention.

scholarly journals Long term outcome of functional independence and quality of life after traumatic SCI in Germany

Spinal Cord ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Möller ◽  
Rüdiger Rupp ◽  
Norbert Weidner ◽  
Christoph Gutenbrunner ◽  
Yorck B. Kalke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Functional Independence ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Study design Multicenter observational study. Objective To describe the long-term outcome of functional independence and quality of life (QoL) for individuals with traumatic and ischemic SCI beyond the first year after injury. Setting A multicenter study in Germany. Methods Participants of the European multicenter study about spinal cord injury (EMSCI) of three German SCI centers were included and followed over time by the German spinal cord injury cohort study (GerSCI). Individuals’ most recent spinal cord independence measure (SCIM) scores assessed by a clinician were followed up by a self-report (SCIM-SR) and correlated to selected items of the WHO short survey of quality of life (WHO-QoL-BREF). Results Data for 359 individuals were obtained. The average time passed the last clinical SCIM examination was 81.47 (SD 51.70) months. In total, 187 of the 359 received questionnaires contained a completely evaluable SCIM-SR. SCIM scores remained stable with the exception of reported management of bladder and bowel resulting in a slight decrease of SCIM-SR of −2.45 points (SD 16.81). SCIM-SR scores showed a significant correlation with the selected items of the WHO-QoL-BREF (p < 0.01) with moderate to strong influence. Conclusion SCIM score stability over time suggests a successful transfer of acquired independence skills obtained during primary rehabilitation into the community setting paralleled by positively related QoL measurements but bladder and bowel management may need special attention.

Excretory dysfunction and quality of life after a spinal cord injury: A cross‐sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 1394-1402
Author(s):  
De Gong ◽  
Yingmin Wang ◽  
Lirong Zhong ◽  
Mengmeng Jia ◽  
Ting Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cord Injury

scholarly journals Improving the quality of life of caregivers of persons with spinal cord injury: A randomized controlled trial.

2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Schulz ◽  
Sara J. Czaja ◽  
Amy Lustig ◽  
Bozena Zdaniuk ◽  
Lynn M. Martire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Cord Injury
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