Natalia Mendez with tips about natural alternatives to harsh pharmaceuticals for common health problems affecting spinal cord injuries. [...]
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Sleep Apnea and SCI covers this common medical problem from a unique SCI perspective in an easy to understand way. [...] As scary as the idea of a feeding tube may be, having one in place before it’s absolutely needed often improves quality of life. By Melody Chavez The word “feeding tube” may be intimidating for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Most people have heard about feeding tubes only through debates in the media, such as the one that raged during the Terri Schiavo case that climaxed in the spring of 2005. Others may see graduating to a feeding tube as “giving in” to this disease. Learning what choices you have regarding this issue, however, will help patients to be proactive in [...] ASK THE COACH | By “Coach” Scott Chesney If you acquired your Spinal Cord Injury, meaning you were not born with paralysis, but rather had an accident, injury, trauma, or some type of illness or disorder that left you paralyzed at any other time besides at birth, what do you do on the anniversary of your SCI? Now you must really think I have lost it, huh? Seriously, having just passed my 23rd Anniversary of using a wheelchair and talking to many friends and contacts with SCI, I find it interesting to note what people do on their respective anniversaries. [...] Bowel and bladder control. “Coach” Scott Chesney takes on The Battle of The [...] Managing weight can be tough for people with spinal cord injuries. Here’s a quick guide to getting a handle on those [...] Your wheelchair cushion is your first line of defense against skin breakdown. By Dr. Richard Louis Bruno Those who wheel instead of walk have a special enemy: Gravity. And where does this enemy exert its particularly pernicious pull? It’s through the gluteal muscles (if you have some) and the ischial bones of the pelvis, that is, your butt. And your first line of defense against gravity? The seat cushion. Much of the information in this article is available at United Spinal Association’s USA Tech Guide (www.usatechguide.org/cushion_reviews.php), a great source if you’re in the market for any assistive technology device. Wheelchair seating is more than a place to rest your, hmm, well you know. Scott Chesney teams up with therapist Mary Shea on how to take care of your wheelchair seating [...] MS brings a daughter closer to her mother as they search for ways to stay healthy, despite the disease. By Amy Meisner-Threet, MSW, with Florence Meisner, RN Like many mothers and daughters, as each of us became more independent from each other over the years, it became harder for my mother and I to communicate with each other. It was almost comical. As my mom began to have some hearing loss over the last few years, she claimed to be able to “hear everyone but my daughter.” I do have kind of a gravelly voice (think Demi Moore or [...] By Ed Lash Probably the most important reason for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to be exercising is that exercise tends to put the various body systems back into balance. And since MS seems to be a disease of an immune system out of balance, it seems that exercise should be of paramount importance. Not only that, but one doctor said that stress is what puts the immune system out of balance in the first place, and exercise is believed by many experts to be the best stress management technique. If you are not already exercising, it may be wise to [...] By Ed Lash A short time ago I read an article about two major medical associations encouraging doctors to prescribe normal medication for a disease, plus the medicine that aids more ills than any other: exercise. In my book Multiple Sclerosis…A Patient’s View, I said pretty much the same about multiple sclerosis (MS): “I do feel, as most professionals do, that a healthy lifestyle is a significant factor in order to manage any chronic disease, whether a person is on medication or not.” As I also mentioned in my book, a healthy lifestyle includes good nutrition, proper rest, and regular moderate [...] A critical safety alert for people using Duragesic or Sandoz patches!!! On Tuesday, February 12, 2008, patches containing the prescription drug fentanyl were voluntarily recalled because of a flaw that could cause patients or caregivers to overdose on the potent medication inside. Sold in the US under the brand name Duragesic by PriCara and generically by Sandoz, Inc. the recall includes all 25-microgram-per-hour patches with expiration dates on or before December 2009. Other strength patches (12.5. 50, 75 and 100 mcg/hr) are not affected. Anyone with 25 mcg/hr Duragesic patches being recalled should call 800-547-6446 for further instructions. A rare spinal cord injury to an obscure bundle of nerves comes with a series of frightening and painful conditions. But to most witnesses, people with cauda equina syndrome don’t seem to have any disabilities at all. by Your Friend Flicka After years of working for a corporation, I felt I wanted to do something more meaningful with my life. So I went to graduate school to study rehabilitation counseling, a field working with individuals with disabilities. In my first semester, a professor who was head of the department was able to connect the disability rights movement to other civil rights [...] Inspired by California facility, Push to Walk in New Jersey offers clients with SCI a chance for recovery on the East Coast. By Anya Starykh Jim Laughlin (right) gets some assistance on the Power Plate from trainer Eric Prol. At 21, Darren Templeton of Kinnelon, New Jersey, has many accomplishments to boast of. A student at Ramapo College, he’s an avid athlete and a passionate rugby player. He recently went skydiving for the first time and is thinking of going again in the spring. He is also organizing a ski trip to Windham Mountain Ski Resort in Upstate New York with some [...] By Craig Kennedy If Christopher Reeve were alive today, the first piece of advice he would have for us all would be to live for today. Despite all the work he did to find a cure for paralysis, Reeve lived in order to find a way to make each day better. He strived to improve his quality of life so that he could live a meaningful existence until he could walk again. It’s hard to imagine that the world’s progress in this scientific field over the last decade could have anything but a positive affect on people with disabilities, but perhaps it [...] By Scott Chesney Well, I said you can ask me anything and you certainly delivered…and I thank you! While I know that taking the time to pour your feelings or thoughts into an e-mail is somewhat time-consuming, I am hopeful that those of you that sent in your questions felt a nice release. Studies have shown that by putting things down on paper or in this instance, an e-mail, one can experience the same type of release that actually speaking to someone generates. I recommend both ways. There is nothing that compares to taking the time to communicate with a loved one, [...] Readers responded to our request for information about living with this common secondary condition of spinal cord injury and disorders. Part two of a three part series on spasticity. By Chris Pierson In July, Action requested information from members about their experience with spasticity. This article summarizes the information we gleaned from about 15 respondents, representing a wide range of people with spinal cord disorders (SCD) who cope with spasticity: men, women, people with cervical- and thoracic- level spinal cord injuries (SCI), people with multiple sclerosis (MS), some who have been dealing with spasticity for a short while, and some who [...] Women Without Limits, the Women’s Advisory Committee to United Spinal Association, constructed a questionnaire on the experience of women with SCI/D in accessing important healthcare and wellness resources. The survey was made available nationally to women members of United Spinal (USM) in the spring of 2006. In the fall of 2006 the survey was opened to a national audience of non-member women with SCI/D. The Women Without Limits (WWL) is pleased to provide this summary of the findings for each survey group. Upon analysis of the information, WWL developed a list of recommendations to United Spinal toward improving the lives of women [...] |
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