Mind Rehabilitation May Help Treat Patients With Spine Injury

Rehabilitating the mind along with the body matters more in spinal cord injury patients says a study.

Researchers from Heriot-Watt University claims that the rate of recovery can be increased in individuals with paraplegia who are unable to move the lower half of the body by training them about spatial awareness.

Spinal Cord Injury - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Spinal cord injury is an injury to the spinal cord that results in temporary or permanent changes in its function.

‘Researchers suggests a combined therapy of mental and physical rehabilitation for the individual’s with paraplegia for better treatment outcome.’

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The knowledge of the individual’s reach and the space around them changes after the injury even though the individual’s upper limb were unaffected. This change can affect individual’s daily tasks of self-care, says Anna Sedda, assistant professor of psychology.

The team of researcher believes that this research can help many health care systems understand their need and support individuals with paraplegia.

The author of the study explained that 25 percent of those with spinal cord lesions retained sensory function but failed to retain their lower limbs. This made the researchers study further about the mental state of the patients.

Autonomic Dysreflexia - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention
Autonomic dysreflexia is a condition that occurs in patients with spinal cord injuries especially in the T5 and T6 levels. This condition is characterized by hyper activity of the autonomic nervous system.

By combining mind and physical rehabilitation, researchers believe in improving the outcome for the individuals with paraplegia to regain movement in their lower limb.

Hemiplegia - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention
Hemiplegia is a condition that is characterized by paralysis of one half of the body, usually due to a brain lesion on the opposite side. It may be congenital (cerebral palsy) or acquired later in life due to illness.

Source-Medindia

Spinal Injury - Symptom Evaluation
Spinal Injury refers to damage to spinal cord that runs below the brain through the back. Injury to spinal cord is a severe injury as the damage is irreversible and it can be life-threatening.