Since joining Metrohealth’s SCI research team four months ago, a simple but common theme has emerged when using injury terminology with participants and their families: it’s complicated.  Many researchers and clinicians choose to introduce standardized medical terms to participants in hopes of helping with understanding but forget how hard it can be to deduce meaning...Continue Reading

Sustaining a spinal cord injury (SCI) causes tremendous stress – physically, mentally, and emotionally.  While acute stress (or stress that doesn’t last long) helps you function in the moment, long-term (chronic) stress can damage your body and it’s ability to function properly. Chronic stress can damage your body in three major ways: impaired digestion, adrenal...Continue Reading

By: Anvi Kshirsagar  If you have experienced a spinal cord injury, you might already have devices in your place of residence to assist with everyday tasks. Every SCI is different, and there are resources available to make life easier regardless of the type of injury. There are a plethora of devices available to assist with...Continue Reading

By Dr. James Wilson, DO Preventing pressure injuries (aka wounds) is one of the most important goals for people after spinal cord injury. Wounds happen fast and take a long time to heal. They can be costly to you and the healthcare system. Wound prevention can be minorly disruptive to majorly invasive in your everyday...Continue Reading

By: Ashley Callaway  As the winter season unfolds, many people may find it challenging to maintain an active lifestyle. The colder temperatures and shorter days can make the idea of exercise seem less appealing. However, staying active during the winter is crucial for our overall well-being and happiness.  One great thing about 2024 is that...Continue Reading

Megan Hammond Nechols We’ve talked about nutrition for specific health conditions for those living with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in previous blogs.  We’ve talked about nutrition for fatigue, depression, respiratory health, and cardiovascular health.  For this issue, we thought it would be a nice change of pace to talk about nutrition for overall health. The...Continue Reading

As I got myself back into the swing of things at work and at home, I was able to take advantage of a 3-D printer that is available in my library at the metro campus. Playing guitar is one of the safer hobbies that I have but one result of my injury was that I...Continue Reading

Social media is a great tool to learn about spinal cord injury (SCI) resources as well as to meet other people living with SCI and learn from their experiences.  We have decided to periodically highlight various social media channels and people throughout the community. YouTube Channels UW Spinal Cord Injury The Northwest Regional Spinal Cord...Continue Reading

In our Summer 2022 Connections Newsletter, we introduced a brand new column, titled Roundtable Discussion.   In this column, we are interviewing people living with spinal cord injuries, asking about their tips, tricks, and learning experiences.  We want to elevate the conversation from resilience to relevant.  For this second article, we asked a few people, “How...Continue Reading

The Model System Knowledge and Translation Center (MSKTC) is a national center that helps facilitate the knowledge translation process to make research meaningful to those with Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Burn Injury. We have heard growing concerns for spasticity, so we wanted to share resources on managing spasms. Spasticity is the uncontrolled...Continue Reading