Spinal Cord Injury

by Cathal Rafferty
(Armagh, Northern Ireland)

I would like to ask, would this therapy be any benefit to a spinal cord injury patient? My back is broken at the t10 vertebrae (incomplete).

Also have a broken leg! Would this treatment help the healing and speeding up recovery?

Hi Cathal,

Thanks for your questions. Without knowing more about your case history and capabilities, I can only comment on Spinal Cord Injury treatments in general that we have treated.

For those with complete SCI's we would provide upper body strength training for those who need to initiate transfers to and from a wheelchair and also provide strength training and stimulation to the lower limbs to delay the onset of spasticity (tightness) in the muscles. For incomplete injuries it depends on where the damage to the spine is. If there is any sensation in the lower limbs, then we would seek to try an improve the strength of the lower limbs and try to get the patient to the point where they could stand either with a walking frame or on crutches, however as you can appreciate this is a long term approach and no guarantees can be given in this regard.

For broken limbs we can apply Pulsed Electromgnetic Field Therapy using the BEMER device as well as ultrasound and IFT to speed up the healing process.

Taking calcium-ascorbate with Vitamin D3 will help with depositing calcium on the bones and around the fracture point of the leg so hopefully preventing inadvertent fracturing as the result of a subsequent fall.

You can buy calcium ascorabte as a powder or tablets sometimes they are called Esterfied Vitamin C. You can also get Vitamin D3 tablets or can get D3 from fish oil as a natural source.

Hyperbaric Oxygen or HDOT may also help by reducing swelling arround the injury site. However the use of HDOT has yet to be proven in the area of SCI.

The best thing for you to do is to contact Goshi in our centre and arrange an inital consultation where we can better assess the prospect for recovery. Contact us using the 'Contact Us' page on the website

Regards,

The First Step Therapy Team