Medical professionals agree that hydrophilic single-use catheters are the safest option for individuals requiring clean intermittent catheterisation. Medical aids are, however, unwilling to cover the cost. Following a spinal cord injury (SCI), one of the greatest challenges is to manage incontinence. Urinary incontinence and the management of the paralysed bladder...

High blood pressure often goes undetected because of a lack of symptoms, but it is responsible for 50 percent of strokes. Prevention is better than cure and with these tips it can be avoided. High blood pressure or hypertension is a disease that’s common around the world and especially so...

Millions of South Africans are diagnosed with diabetes, which is often a contributing factor to strokes. Wheelchair users are no exception! Here is what you need to know about the different kinds of diabetes and how it can be managed. Diabetes in South Africa has been described as an approaching...

Most people with an SCI will experience shoulder pain at some point, but it’s very important to prevent serious injury. Here are a few ways to reduce or avoid injury. Shoulder pain is common in people with a spinal cord injury (SCI) as well as people who have suffered a...

Patients suffering from an SCI that has compromised their upper limbs may consider the option of tendon-transfer surgery Living with spinal cord injury (SCI) is challenging at the best of times. Individuals with an SCI where upper limb function is normal and preserved (paraplegics) are usually functionally independent in all...

Much has been said and written about the “legalisation” of cannabis (or dagga) in South Africa. But there are, well, high and lows to consider… Cannabis has been shown to have several valuable uses in medicine. There are many countries that have legalised the medical use of cannabis, but in...

After a spinal cord injury (SCI), most men are unable to ejaculate and thus unable to impregnate their partner, but there are other ways to assist with a pregnancy In the United States (US), the annual incidence rate of traumatic SCI is about three people per 100 000. Males are...

Don’t confuse focal spasticity with general spasticity: the two are very different and require different treatment. Follow these tips to help you better deal with focal spasticity. Spasticity is a condition that is commonly seen in patients who have suffered a neurological event. It is the uncontrolled contraction of muscle...

I often see chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) patients in my clinic complaining of a sudden increase in spasticity and often the cause can be multifactorial. As I’ve noted before, it is very important to exclude some of the more common causes of increased spasticity. However, one that is often...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is frequently accompanied by joint problems, but these can often be overcome with careful management and exercise. The so-called “over-use syndromes” seen in SCI are widely known. Both in paraplegia and in independently functioning tetraplegics, the upper limb becomes the remaining functioning unit, and therefore the...