Standing Tall Even With a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

It’s Summer…You pack your bags for the weekend, pile your family into the car and head up north to the cottage or beach. When you reach your destination two or three hours later, getting out of the car and standing up tall, stretching and taking that deep cleansing breath, is an instant relief.  It’s innate in all of us to stand, even after a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Imagine not having the ability to stand and losing your mobility and the possible complications to your health from your disability.

Some of the potential complications of immobility are:

1. Decreased Bone Mineral Density (BMD)
2. Development of Joint Contractures (joint immobility)
3. Impaired respiratory functioning
4. Impaired bowel and bladder functioning
5. Gastro-Intestinal problems
6. Risk of Pressure Ulcers
7. Increased pain
8. Increase risk of depression

At Walk It Off, we stress and encourage standing as part of our clients’ health maintenance program; both at our facility and at home.

In our upcoming blog posts we will talk in more depth, of the complications of immobility (above) and the benefits of standing.

In the meantime, we’d love your feedback! And don’t forget to leave a link back to your own blog too if you have one, via the commentluv feature here on the site.

Until next time,

Heather