Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Analysis

(THIS WAS AN INFORMATIVE SPEECH I DID FOR MY COM220 CLASS ON THE STAGES OF SPINAL CORD INJURY RESEARCH. IT ACTED AS AN INTRODUCTION TO MY PERSUASIVE SPEECH ON THE BENEFITS OF STEM CELL RESEARCH)

After researching about paraplegic and quadriplegic, it has been determined how they occur and in what parts of the body they affect. According to John Hopkins Medical, if a person suffers with paraplegic or quadriplegic, it is caused by damage to the spinal cord. To determine whether a person has a spinal injury, doctors will use clinical signs to help determine the severity of the injury. When the spinal cord has been injured, the patient might feel pain, and some disorders; such as motor or sensory. When this occurs, it allows the doctor to determine the cause of the injury, however; most spinal injuries are caused by traumatic accidents. The two

A spinal cord stimulation trial is a test to see whether a spinal cord stimulator reduces your pain. A spinal cord stimulator is a small device that is attached to your back. The stimulator has small wires (leads) that connect it to your spinal cord. The stimulator sends electrical pulses through the leads to the spinal cord. These electrical pulses block the nerve impulses that cause pain.

Occupational Therapy is a growing field; one that is constantly changing as technology becomes more advanced. There are different techniques and methods used in this field, as well as the field of physical therapy, in order assist in client advancement and growth. The traditional method being discussed is Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation also known as PNF and the contemporary technique is Kinesio Taping. These techniques and methods came about for the same purpose, and that is to ultimately help both the Practitioners and of course clients they work with.

Patients will report to physical therapists with a multitude of impairments throughout the progression of the disease. The most prominent impairments will present during cerebellar testing. Patients will show signs of dysmetria, dysphasia, dysdiadochokinesia, and ataxia primarily as a result of the atrophy and damage to the cerebellum. Instability and lack of postural control will be demonstrated during the Romberg's test. Additionally, cranial nerve testing will have positive results for many cranial nerve palsies such as CN III, V, VII, IX, and XII. Patients show weakness in their trunk and extremities during the manual muscle testing. Vestibular testing will result in abnormal VOR, saccades, smooth pursuits and nystagmus. As a result of these impairments, patients experience functional limitations. Primarily, these patients are considered to be “high fall risks,” which ultimately decreases their independence due to weakness, instability and decreased postural control. These patients will feel uncomfortable in many situations and be unable to function independently in the community. This creates an increased risk for further injury. Due to the dysmetria and weakness, patients will also experience difficulty with their daily living skills, such as maintaining proper hygiene; They will have trouble bathing themselves and brushing their teeth without assistive equipment. PT interventions can help minimize and control these limitations. The implementation of balance training and assistive devices will be imperative interventions for an individual to modify and adapt to their gait

Chris Burke, an American actor rightly quotes, It’s not our disabilities, it’s our abilities that count.” Has any illness, injury, or disability affected your daily movements? Do you wish to live life to the fullest? Do you want to challenge your disability, and promote your abilities to perform everyday life activities with fluency? Then you would be needing the help of an occupational therapist.

Spinal cord injury is a sudden and devastating event for patients. The injury can be extremely debilitating and it may require a significant alteration in lifestyle post injury. P.R. has sustained a relatively high level (C6) spinal cord injury, which makes him very limited functional capacity. He will go through grieving process followed by anger for the loss of function and independence. This may be especially difficult for P.R. because he is a young man in his thirties who sustained a debilitating injury in a foreign country without any support from family and friends. Spinal cord injury has left P.R. unable to move his entire lower extremities and trunk muscles. He is unable to do the most basic activities, such as feeding and bowel movement without the help of a caregiver. For a young man who was active and completely independent, it is very difficult to accept this reality. It should also be noted that most of the nursing staff are females, which further damages his male ego for having total dependence.

First off, my immediate goal and underlying themes I wish to emanate every day is to put smiles on peoples’ faces. I firmly believe that every person has the right to be happy and being able to rid those with afflictions will make life worth living. Through evaluating all of the shadowing I’ve been able to partake in and the classes I’ve had the privilege of taking, I’ve developed an idea of what the pinnacle would be for me as an Occupational Therapist. I desire to work with those afflicted by strokes or spinal injury. Paralysis and brain injury are two very intriguing matters that can surprisingly be combated and overcome with diligent and adequate work. This ideal has been in my head since I was first exposed to my grandmother’s recovery process from her stroke. Additionally, my other grandmother has also done some work with Occupational Therapists of late. She suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia which has impaired her in many ways, in fact she has even had to recover from a stroke. Once again I was able to witness the changes in mood and function in a loved one who used occupational therapy after a stroke. In fact, this time I was able to see the impact of occupational therapy on the effects of Trigeminal Neuralgia as well which heightened my interest in the profession and reconfirmed my desire to become an Occupational Therapist and

As the client becomes able to participate in therapy the OT would assess functions relating to movement of the upper extremity, ADLs, cognition, vision and perception sensation, Joint ROM, motor control, Dysphagia and emotional and behavioral factors (Tipton-Burton, McLaughlin, Englander, 2013). The occupational therapist will use the information gathered to determine the best ways to perform daily living skills with the focus on the clients’ occupations (Tipton-Burton, McLaughlin, Englander, 2013). Some of the key assessment used during the rehabilitation phase are the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory, Moss Attention Rating Scale, Neurobehavioral Rating Scale and the Participation Objective, Participation Subjective assessments (Powell,

Occupational therapists work with family, relatives, friends and colleagues in order to make the transition less painful and more helpful for the recovering patient. Physical therapist works soon after the injury in the initial recovery course after primary injury while the services of occupational therapists are generally needed in the rehabilitation course when the patient has fully recovered from the initial injury. Provision of physical therapy may improve the situation and mobility of individuals. Physical therapists perform interventive therapies like massage, acupuncture, exercises and manual therapies to improve the functioning of the body. Occupational therapy is performed when the patient has fully recovered and the sole purpose is to improve the quality of life by not letting the disability to affect the life of individuals.

While there are many ways that a person can specialize in the field of occupational therapy, one of the profession’s draws exists in the potential for variety and diversity. The goal of occupational therapy is to provide therapies and alternatives that allow clients to return to the things that they need to be able to do, and the things they want to be able to do. This is obviously a broad definition, and one that can be achieved in various groups, and through various methods. Occupational therapists can specialize in hand therapy, stroke rehabilitation, driving, community mobility, low vision patients, pediatrics, or geriatrics. In any of these specialties, a therapist can address their patient’s daily living activities, leisure, work, education, or social participation. An increased ability to participate in any of these activities can be facilitated through a variety of treatments: splinting, modalities, adaptive equipment, task modification, environmental modification, or activities centered on desired occupations.

Since the patient does not possess isolated movement in his hemiplegic arm and has some ability to grasp and extend his fingers, this is an appropriate outcome measure to use with this patient to evaluate and quantify the performance as well as the severity of motor function of his involved upper extremity. The current modified 17-item scale has been adjusted for ease of performance for individuals who may have minimal movement in the hemiplegic limb.

A review of the literature regarding spinal immobilisation has been undertaken using databases for PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, OVID and Cochrane EBM. Reviews were electronically searched using the subject headings “spinal injuries”, “spinal immobilisation” and “management of spinal injuries”. The results generated by the search were limited to English language articles and reviewed for relevance to the topic. The aim of this literature review is to compare and contrast the views on spinal immobilisation and to achieve a better knowledge of evidence based practice.

Approximately 11,000 spinal cord injuries involving Paraplegia are reported in the United States yearly. These injuries occur as a result of automobile and motorcycle accidents, falls, sporting accidents, and gunshot wounds; although, it is also caused by congenital conditions. When the spinal nerve signals below the level of the injury is partially cut off from the brain, this results in Paraplegia disability. This is an impairment of motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The most affected areas of the spinal canal by Paraplegia are related directly either with the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral regions. Spinal Cord injuries are medical emergencies. Immediate treatment can reduce long-term effects. There are

Hemiplegia is defined as the complete loss of movement or sensation to an entire half of the body. Hemiparesis is a partial loss of sensation or movement throughout one side of the body. Both hemiplegia and hemiparesis are common after a person has had a severe stroke. According to the Center for Disease Control “Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of adult disability. About 800,000 people in the United States have a stroke each year” (Stroke Statistics, 2015). A stroke occurs when a blood vessel bursts and oxygen is not being transported to the brain properly. The Stroke Center, a leading independent information provider on strokes, states, “Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long term