Spinal Cord Injury Video Analysis

I have been around some people who were some sort of handicap and they all told me the worst thing anyone could do to towards a handicap is feel sympathetic towards them. For example, when I was at a store a man had fall off his wheel chair I was going to help him and he told me not to help him because he could do it on his own. There are parts in the article where I thought were amusing. Like when he mentioned his girlfriend was out of town and it was a letdown because he had lost a pair of arms for shucking oysters. He stated that even though shucking the oysters would be a challenge for him he look forward to the fact that he was not allergic to them. In my opinion “Single-Handed Cooking” is a good lesson about overcoming difficulties, and I think that the point he is trying to get across is if a handicap could overcome his/her difficulties of losing a limb or limbs you can overcome your difficulties and not try to avoid

I took into consideration certain regulations upheld at the CNIB such as walking on the right side only and ensuring all doors were either completely closed or wide open. When I brought these up to Carol, she informed me that she and Paul were considering re-paving the floors of their home as one way of making it more accessible and, as she put it, “blind-friendly”, not just for Paul, but for anyone who would benefit from these details. Like the article, Carol informed me of the isolation and loneliness that many of those with physical and mental disabilities experience, and how it is difficult for a sense of community to be built between them when reduced mobility is a factor that limits the possibility of being in a group.

Spinal cord injuries can be extremely debilitating with significant impairment in autonomic, sensory, and motor function (Coll-Miro et al., 2016). The prevalence in Canada is on the rise with approximately 86,000 individuals suffering from such injuries as of 2010 (Noonan et al., 2012). Spinal cord injuries are generally classified as either traumatic or non-traumatic, depending on etiology (Sabapathy et al., 2015). In addition, they are subdivided into either complete or incomplete, depending on whether the spinal cord section is fully or partially damaged (Wilberger and Dupre, 2015). The latter classification has better clinical outcomes as some neurologic function is reserved (Wilberger and Dupre, 2015). Other subtypes include paraplegia and quadriplegia denoting paralysis of the lower body or all limbs, respectively (Wilberger and Dupre, 2015; Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). The pathogenesis of spinal cord injuries is characterized by primary tissue damage due to the force of impact, followed by secondary tissue damage as a result of the inflammatory response (Sabapathy et al., 2015; Coll-Miro et al., 2015). The symptoms and severity may vary depending on the location and pathology of the contusion (Sabapathy et al., 2015). Presenting symptoms include but are not limited to numbness or pain in the extremities, loss of sensation, impaired movement or gait, abnormal reflexes, disrupted bladder or bowel function, and sexual dysfunction (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Several

Myth 1: Wheelchairs Summary: According to the article 6 Stereotypes of Disability from Disabled We Stand, one of the misconceptions was, “if you’re in a wheelchair, that can mean either that you’re deaf, dumb and stupid, or that you’re a goddess on wheels. People approach you when they usually wouldn’t approach anyone else.” Furthermore, others are drawn to people in wheelchairs because they automatically feel pity and interest in the difference in lifestyles. Rather than letting a wheelchair define someone’s character, personality, or life, perhaps getting to know the individual would be a more accurate representation of who they are as a person.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a disabling condition that makes the individual dependent on others for performing their living and professional activities (2,3). Typically, a wide range of such services are provided by a caregiver or family members and relatives of the injured person (1,3). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines caregiver as “A person who provides support and assistance, formal or informal, with various activities to persons with disabilities or long-term conditions, or persons who are elderly. This person may provide emotional or financial support, as well as hands-on help with different tasks. Care giving may also be done from long distance”.1

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event that often leads to extreme losses of motor, sensory, and autonomic nervous system functions. Additionally, up to two-thirds of all SCIs develop chronic neuropathic pain syndromes, severely decreasing the quality of life for affected individuals (1, 2). A typical SCI results from a traumatic force exerted on the spinal cord, resulting in immediate tissue destruction at the time of impact referred to as primary SCI. The tissue adjacent to the injury immediately becomes vulnerable to a secondary cascade of vascular, biochemical, and inflammatory changes that advance tissue degeneration and lead to neurological dysfunction referred to as secondary SCI (3, 4). The inflammatory response is the most

A spinal cord injury does not occur in a single moment. Instead damage will continue to ensue for days to weeks after the initial injury. The initial impact and injury causes the immediate damage and death of oligodendrocytes and motor neurons. However, another wave of damage is caused by the secondary processes that occur after the injury. The spinal cord is a bundle of nervous tissue and neurons protected by the vertebral column that transmits electrical synapses, or messages, from the brain to the rest of the body. It is composed of three layers of membranes and is protected by the bony vertebrae that make up our vertebral column. The spinal cord upon impact will swell and secrete chemicals which will cause an inflammatory response and will kill neighboring cells increasing the amount of functioning lost throughout the body. The swelling can also cut off the blood flow to the

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be dated back to the Egyptains, “who described it as an ailment not to be treated” (Sarhan, Saif, & Saif, 2012 p .319). SCI victims had no hope for a normalized future and were confined to wheelchairs and experienced poor survival rates because of the demands of care. Advancements in emergency care and rehabilitation practices increase neurological function to the spine which has increased the SCI victim’s changes of survival and return to normal locomotion. The spinal column can be divided into “31 segments” and “comprise seven cervical, twelve thoracic, five lumbar and five sacral vertebral segments” which protect the spinal cord (Sarhan, et al. p. 319 & 320). The nerves of the spinal column relay biological information to and from the brain by ascending and descending tracts. A SCI occurs when acute trauma is generated to the spinal cord. Significant pathology and pathophysiology damage blocks communication between the brain and the rest of the body. A person’s motor skills, autonomic functions, and sensations are affected by the initial injury. The higher the injury occurs on the spinal column, the more dysfunctional the person may become. “The primary injury determines a given patient’s neurologic grade on admission and thereby is the strongest prognostic indicator” (Dumont, Okonkwo, Verma, Hurlbert, Boulos, Ellegala, & Dumont, 2001 p. 254). Secondary injuries can occur from vascular, cellular, and/or biochemical changes at the injury site.

Book reference that gives detailed information about spinal cord injuries. The book provides results of spinal cord injuries such as paraplegia and tetraplegia, complete vs. incomplete spinal cord injuries, types of clinical syndromes, prognosis for recovery based on the severity of the injury, medical management, and complications caused by spinal cord injuries. The book provides detailed information of occupational therapy interventions for spinal cord injuries, and an informative resource outline that illustrates the expected functional outcomes of each individual level of spinal cord injury.

Another obvious physical disability is an individual's confinement to a wheelchair. People who cannot walk under their own power are usually at a great disadvantage. Many times there are no special considerations made for these people. Even some typical expressions demonstrate this lack of compassion, such as "I have to run to the store", or "I'm going for a walk." People in wheelchairs are often considered weak and unable to care for themselves. However, some advances have been made in our society that encourages the independence of these people. Wheelchair ramps, handicap parking, and cuts in the curb of sidewalks are just some of the more obvious changes that have been made to better accommodate these people. But some problems may still occur for people in wheelchairs. Some hallways and doors may not be wide enough for the chair to fit through and when it is icy outside it is very easy to slide if the pavement is not sanded properly.

Every year, there are approximately 12,500 new cases of spinal cord injury in the United States. Vehicle crashes are the leading causes of spinal cord injuries. The most frequent neurological damage sustained by such injuries is incomplete tetraplegia, followed by incomplete paraplegia.

Female Sprague-Dawley rats at 8 weeks old were used for all experiments. Rats were anesthetized with an intraperitoneal injection of phenobarbital sodium (35 mg/kg) and placed prone on a heating pad to maintain a constant body temperature. Modified NYU weight-drop model was performed for spinal cord injury (SCI). A laminectomy was performed at the T10 level. The spinous processes of T8 and T11 were then clamped to stabilize the spine, a 10-g weight (3-mm diameter tip) dropped from a height of 25 mm onto the dorsal surface of the dura mater. The wound was closed and disinfected. Rats in sham group had only laminectomy performed and were nontraumatized. Surgical interventions and postoperative animal care

At the end of the training, Emily, one of the other students on the team, came to the group with an idea for a documentary starring Archer Hadley, a senior at Austin High School who has Cerebral Palsy. Archer is a family friend of Emily’s but was known by most of us as “that guy in the wheelchair.” Archer was gaining local attention at our high school for his innovative “wheelchair challenge,” which dared students to use a wheelchair for a day. Archer launched this campaign after being stuck outside in the rain with no way of getting inside due to the school’s lack of wheelchair accessible ramps. The idea for the challenge was inspired by the viral ALS “ice bucket challenge,” and the campaign brought campus-wide attention to Archer and his cause. Thus, when Emily pitched her documentary idea, we all agreed that we wanted to be a part of this cause and make a

Many spinal cord injuries (SCI) patients are suffering from the impairment of impulse conduction and they are unable to carry out their activities of daily living. Rehabilitation becomes an important role in enhancing motor recovery and minimizing the deficits of their movement function. The goal of this research is to deliver natural gait behavior of a rat through active robotics and intelligent system for the SCI Sprague-Dawley rat. The advance of this research is not only the rehabilitation novel system but also the regenerative medicine novel method from the cooperation of school of chemical and biomedical engineering (SCBE). In order to reach this goal, the first design of robotic module which composes of a body weight support system, treadmill for training motor functions and five bar linkage for driving rat's ankle is built to do a preliminary test with the spinal cord injury rats which are totally transected at T9-T10 of the spinal cord.

When people have a disability it is life changing for them. They cannot just flip a switch and turn it off; most times it is a permanent ordeal. Participating in this experience opened my eyes even more to specifically what disabled people go through on a daily basis.