spinal cord injury mobilityspinal cord injury mobility 

After spinal cord injury, you should keep yourself mobile as much as you can. It not only helps in improving and maintaining physical health but mental health also.


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Below we discuss important points of spinal cord injury mobility:

  • Mobility is all, that you don’t stay static in bed, do exercise regularly, sit on manual wheelchair or electric  powered wheelchairs, move inside home as well as outside and drive your car also.

 

  • If you are in bed and not sleeping then you should not stay static. You should keep your side changing to avoid pressure sores. You can do various kinds of exercises in bed which will help in improving muscles strength and avoid problems like spasticity and muscles and joints contractures.

 

  • While sitting in bed or in wheelchair try lifting yourself up from time to time. It will not only help in making your shoulders strong which is good for transfer in between wheelchair and bed but also release pressure from buttocks to avoid pressure sores. If you are quadriplegic then mobility will also help in avoiding various respiratory problems like congestion.

 

  • You must do range of motion exercises once or twice a day. You can either take help of attendant or do it yourself while in bed. This will help in avoiding shortening of muscles known as muscles contractures and will also stop the joints from getting rigid. You must work on your upper body and make it strong as much as you can to become independent.

 

  • Sit on your wheelchair quite often then laying in bed. Use manual wheelchair instead of electric powered wheelchairs, while moving inside home. If you are c5,c6 quadriplegic, you still can move manual wheelchair inside home on plane surfaces. Pushing a manual wheelchair will help in making your upper body stronger.

 

  • Mobility will also help in avoiding mental problems like depression. If you often stays in bed then all of your concentration will be on yourself, your problems and your losses which may cause depression. You should quite often go outside home, meat friends and be part of the community. Electric wheelchair can help you alot in this regard.

 

  • Your mobility aids for spinal cord injury should be best. All your manual, electric wheelchairs should be in good condition. Repair them if any fault arises in them. You can also modify your car to be driven by hands only by installing hand drive control in it. You can continue your studies, if you were student before injury or do job .

 

In short, after spinal cord injury, your life should not be static and restricted to bed. Rather you should live a full and  active spinal cord injury mobility life to keep your mind and body healthy and in good shape