SCI Medicine
Spinal cord injury rehabilitation, written for clinicians, trainees, and curious patients. Deeper than the patient-education handouts, lighter than a textbook.
Board prep
Board-style question practice across SCI medicine — ASIA/ISNCSCI, autonomic dysreflexia, neurogenic bladder & bowel, spasticity, pressure injuries, function by level, and more. Core board material and questions drawn from the literature are labelled and filterable, so you always know the source.
Board Prep
The question game, with board & literature clearly separated
Reading
- This week's SCI research roundup — the public version of my weekly literature surveillance.
- Patient education library — the same handouts I use on the unit, refreshed monthly.
- Durable patient handout library — topic-specific plain-language handouts (autonomic dysreflexia, orthostatic hypotension, spasticity, and more).
By level
Function, common barriers, durable medical equipment, and adaptive sports organized by SCI level group. Helpful for patients orienting to a new injury, family members, and trainees building a mental model of how level dictates rehab strategy.
C1–C4
Highest level of injury. Often ventilator-dependent. Requires 24-hour caregiver support but rich quality of life is fully achievable.
C5–C7
Tetraplegia with progressively more arm function. C5 elbow flexion. C6 wrist extension and tenodesis grip. C7 elbow extension and finger flexion — the level at which manual-chair independence becomes realistic.
T1–T6
Full hand and arm function. Limited trunk control. Autonomic dysreflexia risk is still present. Manual wheelchair user, fully independent in self-care.
T7–T12
Full upper-body and abdominal trunk control. No autonomic dysreflexia risk. Highest-functioning wheelchair-using level — most adaptive sports are within reach.
CE / Conus
Lower-motor-neuron injury below the spinal cord proper. Flaccid paralysis (not spastic), areflexic bladder and bowel, often asymmetric. Many people walk with bracing — many do not.
Topics
Autonomic dysreflexia
Recognition, BP thresholds, acute management.
Orthostatic hypotension after SCI
Therapy progression, abdominal binder, midodrine.
Spasticity
Oral agents, intrathecal baclofen, focal botulinum toxin.
Neurogenic bladder
Intermittent catheterization and bladder management algorithms.
Neurogenic bowel
Building a sustainable program patients actually follow.
Pressure injuries
Prevention, staging, and surgical timing.
DVT prevention
Acute and inpatient rehab — agents, duration, ambulation.
Respiratory care
Quad cough, secretion clearance, ventilator weaning.
Neuromodulation
ARC EX, exoskeletons, diaphragm pacing — what the evidence says.
Program direction
Admissions, IDT, payer dynamics, advocacy.
Long-form articles are being migrated. If something here is a stub, the patient handouts and weekly roundups already cover the core material.