Management of the Patient with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Individuals with spinal cord injuries or disorders (SCI/D), whether of traumatic or nontraumatic cause, require multidisciplinary management by their care team to achieve optimal health outcomes. SCI/D is relatively rare in the general population and primary care providers (PCPs) may not have extensive experience managing people with these disorders. Spinal cord injuries, impair the body's autonomic and biomechanical performance by interrupting the communications to and from major bodily systems. This article provides a framework to help PCPs understand how these changes impact their patient's physiologic function and subsequent risks for health complications with guidance for initial treatment approaches.

Keywords: Autonomic dysreflexia; Neurogenic bladder; Neurogenic bowel; Primary health care; Spasticity; Spinal cord injuries.