Q: What was the inspiration for the Paralympics?

A: Originally the Paralympics were created as a rehabilitation program for British war veterans who had spinal injuries. In 1948 Sir Ludwig Guttman, a neurologist at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, added sports to help his patients rehabilitate.

He set it up as a competition between his hospital and others, and held it during the London Olympics. This idea was adopted by hospital after hospital throughout Britain and in 1960, Guttman brought 400 of these athletes to Rome to compete during that year’s Olympics. It was then that the name “Paralympics” was coined.

By 1968 there were more than 1,000 athletes participating from 44 countries. Today the Paralympics host elite athletes from six different disability groups. Since the beginning, they have been held in the same year as the Olympics, and often in the same city. This year they will be held in Beijing, China and the Winter Paralympics for 2012 will be in Vancouver, Canada.

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, S.3297 (CDRPA) has passed the House and is now awaiting the Senate vote. The Christopher Reeve Foundation is asking for your help in passing this important package.

According to the foundation’s Website, the CDRPA “has three components that support and enhance paralysis research, rehabilitation an quality of life programs.”

In detail:

“Title I. Paralysis Research
The bill expands research on paralysis at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by establishing the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Consortia. This style of research promotes collaboration - connecting scientists doing similar work in multiple fields to enrich understanding and speed discovery of better treatments and cures.

Title II. Paralysis Rehabilitation and Care
The bill calls for rehabilitation research to advance daily function for people with paralysis including intensive, activity-based research to measure the effectiveness of certain rehabilitative tactics that aim to improve mobility, prevent secondary complications, and develop improved assistive technology.

Title III. Improving Quality of Life for Persons with Paralysis and Other Physical Disabilities
The bill will develop unique programs at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to better the quality of life and long-term health status of persons with paralysis and other physical disabilities. Programs include providing grants to non-profit health and disability organizations to educate the public about paralysis, improve access to services, and integrate life with paralysis into society, as well as coordinate services within each state to assist persons living with paralysis.”

For more information on how you can help support this bill, visit the Christopher Reeve Foundation’s Website.

It’s impossible for those who have never experienced a life altering and debilitating injury to imagine what it’s like to go through the grief of losing your ability to walk, stand or even utilize the hands that you never gave a thought to before. For the thousands who sustain a paralyzing injury every year, this reality is one that is all too real.

Making it through this trying period can often seem like a insurmountable challenge, but with time and support, those with paralysids are able to reorganize and readjust to their changed lives. Jobs, relationships and everyday activities now require new maps to be drawn in order to navigate what used to be familiar territory.

The steps immediately following are familiar to anyone who has experienced a significant loss in their lives: denial, isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Often the person who is newly injured will try to ignore what has happened and try to pretend that their paralysis isn’t now a fact of life. They will attempt to isolate themselves in order to keep their injury from being brought to their attention. Then, when there is no choice but to acknowledge the paralysis, anger sets in.

The loss of one’s limbs often seems unfair, creating a sense of injustice and anger. This is then followed by bargaining with doctors and with an individual’s representation of God, with depression close on its heels. Finally comes acceptance. At this point, the person finally accepts the reality of their loss.

This pattern varies depending on the individual, but becoming familiar with these stages will help either you realize that these feelings are normal and others have not only dealt with them but gotten through to the other side intact.

Regaining control of your life is important, and through self-education you can find a means to do it. Find out all you can about the injury and the options that are available to help make your environment more conducive to your needs. There are modifications that can be made to your car, your house and everything within it that will make things a great deal more accessible.

With time, you will adjust to your disability and gain a thorough understanding of how to educate others about it, what to ask for to have your needs met and how to properly take care of yourself physically and emotionally.

This is not an easy condition to get used to, but in time, you will be able to have a life as full and engrossing in a way that you never imagined before becoming paralyzed - and with the constant advances being made in science, the chance for a treatment grows with every day that passes.

Lee Sang-ho with Wooridul Spine Hospital is involved with the creation of a “less painful and more effective” spinal disc treatment through “minimally invasive” spinal surgery.

Lee eschews the usual method of back surgery which involves cutting into the back through skin, muscle, nerves and bone in order to reach the spinal discs. The discs, composed of a jelly-like fibers, are nestled between the vertebrae which they hold together, much like ligaments. When they are damaged in an accident, they can cause a great deal of pain to the injured person.

The method that Lee uses involves creating tiny holes through which he inserts a needle and moves aside organs in order to reach the disks. This greatly minimizes damage to the surrounding tissue. He claims that it’s both effective and has a smaller risk of infection, though requires greater accuracy than other SCI procedures.

For more information about this procedure, visit the Wooridul Website.

Click here for the Korea Times article.

BioArctic Neuroscience AB and Swenora Biotech AB have announced the formation of an exclusive agreement geared towards a new type of treatment for spinal cord injuries.

With the goal of improving “functional recovery and quality of life for patients with spinal cord injury”, Swenora has created peripheral nerve grafts. In combination with a growth factor, these grafts have assisted with spinal cord repair in rodents.

This repair is applied by using a biodegradable device that combines peripheral nerves and a growth factor. It is used during neurosurgery when injured tissue is replaced. We will be keeping an eye out for more news on this advancement as it bodes well for the many patients with spinal cord injuries.

Accepting Your Feelings after Brain Injury

The time following a brain injury is an incredibly confusing, frustrating, and emotional period for both the survivor and his or her family and friends. All involved should be expected to experience a wide variety of emotions, from depression to denial, from anger to hopelessness. These feelings are completely normal, and the patient and his or her family shouldn’t feel bad about having them.

Patients and their families and friends should be encouraged to share their feelings with the physician, therapy team, and counselors, and should talk about, in particular, what is distressing them. Perhaps they are afraid that they won’t have the same relationships with their friends, or perhaps they are worried about ever working again. Talking to someone who knows what the future is likely to hold can bring emotional relief, and can help the patient focus on what’s really important—recovery.