Archive for July, 2008
This Week’s Q&A
Q: Where can I find clothing and accessories that work with my disability?
A: There are a multitude of resources for “adaptive” clothes and home health products. Whether you are trying to obtain weather proofing for wheelchair outings or you need affordable Velcro mittens, there is a place that can provide what you need. Here are some good resources:
Dr. Thea Flock’s book The Elimination of Pain the Natural Way cites stories from 35 patients who found pain relief by using her spinal decompression therapy called The Flock Method (TFM).
The technology behind TFM relieves nerve compression, leading to pain relief. Flock doesn’t claim that her method creates 100 percent pain relief, but she says that her patients do experience diminished pain and improved functionality.
She also makes sure to point out that there is the potential for adverse symptoms with decompression, such as loss of bowel or bladder function, numbness in the back and problems with balance.
If you are interested in finding out if this therapy will work for you, visit her site here.
Sue Leger, the director of CenterIMT Atlanta in Fayetteville, Georgia is asserting that a combination of hands-on therapy with laser healing, electrical stimulus, diet and exercise has the ability to “reverse severe spinal cord injuries.” This combination therapy is called Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) and was developed by Dr. Sharon Giammatteo.
A study by BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc. performed in the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, found a positive correlation in spinal cord injury recovery and the use of NTF cells…
Some Important TBI Incidence Statistics:
- TBI occurrence is strongest in the following age groups: Five years and younger, between 15 and 24 years and over 70 years old.
- The death rate is 30 per 100,000, with 50 percent of those dying within the first two hours after their injury.
- It is estimated that 50,000 people die every year in the U.S. from TBI.
- Lasting problems from TBI are estimated to affect 70,000 people.
- Three quarters of those injured are male.
- Thirty percent had a history of alcohol abuse.
- The majority of injuries were received in motor vehicle crashes, some 50 to 70 percent.
Statistics thanks to the Centre for Neuro Skills.
ScienceDaily published a recent article discussing a nutritional study from Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function. This study was focused on how food and exercise affects the brain, going so far as to say they can stave off mental disorders.
A recent press release from the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute is bringing attention to the increased risk of death or injury to children through the use of car restraints that are the wrong size or are improperly secured.
Considering that automobile accidents are one of the main sources of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, understanding how to properly secure your child becomes a vital bit of knowledge.
According to the release, 82 percent of the children who were involved in a car accident between 2002 and 2005 were using restraints that were inappropriate for their size. This resulted in serious injuries and even death.
SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. is an excellent resource for belt and booster seat specifications.
Now it looks like even Russia is getting on board with the UN push for official disability rights. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Russia has much to do still, if they are to fully implement the UN’s provisions, but that their experts are helping develop the convention and the legislation.
Putin admits that Russia towns ans cities are poorly equipped to properly assist those with disabilities, whether it be with transportation or jobs. He believes that signing the Convention “will be a move forward on this track.”
Interesting that Russia is willing to move forward on this and yet the US still refuses to sign.
Pain management technology for chronic back pain:
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a “brain pacemaker”, a device that sends electrical impulses to areas of the brain, primarily the sensory thalamus, in order to relieve chronic pain. This procedure is used for pain that medication has had no effect on, as it’s not exactly simple and there can be some unpleasant side effects.
Fine electrode wires are inserted into specific parts of the brain, and then they are used to deliver continuous pulses of electricity to the brain regions that process pain signals. By changing brain activity though the depression of excitatory transmissions in the thalamus, pain is effectively “turned off”.
The DBS is made up of the implanted pulse generator (IPG), the lead, which is a wire insulated in polyurethane that the electrical impulses run through, and the extension, which connects the lead to the IPG. The DBS is surgically inserted into the body – the electrode is implanted into a small hole (about 14 mm) that is drilled into the skull under local anesthesia, and then under general anesthesia, the IPG and lead are implanted.
Side effects vary depending on the patient, but some that have been documented are “apathy, hallucinations, compulsive gambling, hypersexuality, cognitive dysfunction and depression”. Wikipedia notes that these effects may be temporary, if experienced at all, and are most likely reversible with either change in placement of the stimulator or its removal.
While there are a handful of procedures that you can turn to if medication fails to be effective, this particular one has a high success rate, some 80 percent over time, and is also reversible should it not work.
