Spinal Cord Injury Patients Help U-M Effort To Prevent Diving Injuries

Matt Kerry was built burly and strong, primed for athletic success, and recruited heavily to play football on a college scholarship.

But one summer day on a Michigan lake, he made a split-second decision that thwarted a future as bright as the sun reflecting off the waves. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound young man dove into three feet of water. Hit the bottom, head first. Continue Reading »

Cape May lifeguard seeks beach improvements to reduce spinal-cord injuries

CAPE MAY – Shore towns do not like bad publicity, but this year, the city will spend $10,000 from its beach revenue to print a quarter-million brochures explaining to tourists that they could break their neck or back swimming or body surfing.

The city is taking the step due largely to the persistence of Chad de Satnick, a local lifeguard who broke his neck surfing Continue Reading »

Prevent Spinal Cord Injury At All Ages

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Augusta, GA —Someone in the U.S. sustains a life-changing spinal cord injury every hour, but prevention takes only a second.

Spinal cord injuries can happen in an instant, and something as simple as forgetting to wear a seatbelt, tripping over a rug or not checking water levels before diving can have devastating consequences. The leading cause of spinal cord injury varies depending on a person’s age. But regardless of age, being aware and taking the appropriate precautions can help reduce your risk and your family’s risk of injury. Continue Reading »

Volunteer recognised for promoting spinal safety message

Volunteer recognised for promoting spinal safety message

Disability Services Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk today paid tribute to volunteer Wayne Leo for promoting spinal safety and injury prevention to 250,000 children across Queensland.

Ms Palaszczuk was attending a morning tea at the Spinal Injuries Association Queensland at Woolloongabba. Continue Reading »

Baylor study doubts neck brace standard

In some cases, device might hurt accident victims

Applying a brace to the neck of a trauma patient, standard procedure for many decades, can worsen the injury and lead to severe paralysis or death, according to a new study by Houston researchers.

Baylor College of Medicine doctors used cadavers to confirm that so-called cervical collars can be counterproductive, a finding that could upturn the way emergency medical personnel and doctors act to stabilize and protect the upper spine in potentially fatal neck injuries, such as those that commonly occur in bad automobile accidents. Continue Reading »

A Helmet to Prevent Paralysis

Engineers are designing a helmet that could protect the spine from serious injury.

Helmets for everything from football and hockey to motorcycle riding are built to protect the head from impact. Each successive generation of design is better at dissipating force and protecting against concussions and other knocks to the skull. But current helmets can still do little to prevent the spinal injuries that cause paralysis.

Now researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver are working on a design that could protect the spine during a head-on collision. Continue Reading »

Determined To Make a Difference

By Judith Shatto

I know personally the danger of drunk driving; the pain, heartbreak, consequences, and rage it can cause. My son and I live it every day. He is a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the chest down because of a drunk driver.

Having the opportunity to write my experience has been somewhat overwhelming to say the least. The opportunity I am calling my purge. To release the negative emotions I have held on to; to let others know that no matter how difficult life gets, if you look over your shoulder, there is often times someone with greater pain. Seems trivial but the saying – if life gives you lemons, make lemonade is true. Some of us just take longer to start squeezing them!

The first year of my son’s injury I fell into a deep hole of depression. I was so angry. Actually, anger isn’t the right word. I was living in rage. I was angry at the world, at God, and especially the drunk and our court system. I was overwhelmed with the fear of not understanding or knowing anything about spinal cord injuries. Overwhelmed and stuck in that place many of us know…the whys. Deep down I had enough faith that I knew we would get through this. I just didn’t know how long it would take. And the hole I found myself in was so deep; forget the rope, I was hanging on by a thread. Continue Reading »

Buckle-up drive enlists the wheelchair-bound

“Buckle up, or you could end up like me!” This is a warning from wheelchair-bound Ernest Sithole, who, together with 44 other members of the QuadPara Association of South Africa (Qasa), are stationed at eight garages on national roads to encourage motorists to fasten their seatbelts and avoid spinal injuries if they are involved in an accident. Continue Reading »

Shooting victim urges youths to ‘think first’

Wilberto “Tony” Rivera knows what it’s like to have life turned upside down in a matter of seconds.

One minute, he said, he was dealing drugs at age 23 on Indianapolis’ Westside. The next minute, he was shot in the back. He ended up paralyzed below the chest.

Now 36, Rivera is determined to keep Indiana youths from taking the same risks he did. Continue Reading »

New approach to prevent spinal cord damage

Washington, Nov 8(ANI): Scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have suggested a new approach to prevent paralysis following a spinal cord injury.

They believe that permanent nerve damage may be avoided by raising levels of a compound that converts to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) – the active form of vitamin B3.

The compound would potentially be administered immediately following spinal cord injury. Continue Reading »