Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or total loss of function in the arms, legs, trunk, and pelvis. The paralysis may be flaccid or spastic. A loss of sensory function can present as an impairment or complete inability to sense light touch, pressure, heat, pinprick/pain, and proprioception. In these types of spinal cord injury, it is common to have a loss of both sensation and motor control.
Rehabilitation of sensory and cognitive function typically involves methods for retraining neural pathways or training new neural pathways to regain or improve neurocognitive functioning that have been diminished by disease or trauma. The main objective outcome for rehabilitation is to assist in regaining physical abilities and improving performance. Three common neuropsychological problems treatable with rehabilitation are attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), concussion, and spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation research and practices are a fertile area for clinical neuropsychologists, rehabilitation psychologists, and others.
Cheri Blauwet is an American physician and Paralympic wheelchair racer. She is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Sports Medicine, is associate professor of PM&R at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. She has competed at the Paralympic level in events ranging from the 100 meters to the marathon.
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions.
Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. This can include conditions such as spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, strokes, as well as pain or disability due to muscle, ligament or nerve damage. A physician having completed training in this field may be referred to as a physiatrist.
Shriners Hospitals for Children, commonly known as Shriners Children's, is a network of non-profit children's hospitals and other pediatric medical facilities across North America. Children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients' ability to pay. Care for children is usually provided until age 18, although in some cases, it may be extended to age 21.
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute is the largest rehabilitation hospital in Canada. Owned and operated by the University Health Network (UHN), Toronto Rehab provides patients with rehabilitation care, helping people rebuild their lives and achieve individualized goals following injury and disability. It is composed of five sites across Toronto, which are: Bickle Centre, Lakeside Centre, Lyndhurst Centre, Rumsey Centre, and University Centre.
The Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree program, multiple dual degree programs, graduate medical education, and continuing medical education.
The McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University is a consortium of urban, suburban, specialized, and general hospitals and Northwestern University. The member hospitals of the center have a total bed capacity of more than 2200.
Central cord syndrome (CCS) is the most common form of cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). It is characterized by loss of power and sensation in arms and hands. It usually results from trauma which causes damage to the neck, leading to major injury to the central corticospinal tract of the spinal cord. CCS most frequently occurs among older persons with cervical spondylosis, however, it also may occur in younger individuals.
MedStar National Rehabilitation Network is located in Washington, D.C., and specializes in treating persons with physical disabilities. The National Rehabilitation Hospital was founded in 1986 by Edward A. Eckenhoff, and is a member of the MedStar Health system, the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore region's largest non-profit healthcare organization.
DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM) is one of the eight hospitals affiliated with the Detroit Medical Center. RIM is one of the largest, academic, rehabilitation hospitals in the United States specializing in rehabilitation medicine and research. RIM offers clinical treatment in spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, complex trauma and orthopedics and catastrophic injury care. The institute is home to the Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery, a facility designed to implement and study innovative treatments in spinal cord injury recovery.
Medical centers in the United States are conglomerations of health care facilities including hospitals and research facilities that also either include or are closely affiliated with a medical school.
TIRR Memorial Hermann is a 134-bed rehabilitation hospital, rehabilitation and research center, outpatient medical clinic and network of outpatient rehabilitation centers in Houston, Texas that offers physical rehabilitation to patients following traumatic brain or spinal injury or to those suffering from neurologic illnesses.
Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc. is a company that develops and manufactures powered exoskeleton bionic devices that can be strapped on as wearable robots to enhance the strength, mobility, and endurance of industrial workers and people experiencing paralysis and mobility issues after a brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS) or spinal cord injury. They enable individuals with any amount of lower extremity weakness, including those who are paralyzed, to stand up and walk.
Ravi Kalhan is the director of the Asthma and COPD Program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VAHCS) is network of hospital and outpatient clinics based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. It belongs to the VISN23 VA Midwest Health Care Network managed by the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Minneapolis VAHCS provides healthcare for United States military veterans in areas such as medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, oncology, dentistry, geriatrics and extended care. As a teaching hospital, it operates comprehensive training programs for multiple treatment specialties. The Minneapolis VAHCS also hosts one of the largest research programs of any VA health care system and maintains research affiliations with the University of Minnesota.
Jordan Henry Grafman is an American neuropsychologist who serves as Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. He is also the Director of Brain Injury Research at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Before joining Northwestern and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Grafman served as the director of Traumatic Brain Injury Research at the Kessler Foundation. He also served as Chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. His research primarily focuses on investigating the functions of the human prefrontal cortex using a wide variety of methods, including magnetic resonance imaging, psychophysiological techniques, and genetic research. He was awarded a Humboldt Research Award in 2011.
Northwestern Medicine, formerly Northwestern Memorial Healthcare, is a non-profit healthcare system affiliated with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago, Illinois. Members include research hospitals, acute care facilities, and academic centers.
Richard (Rick) L. Lieber is an American scientist in the field of muscle physiology. Lieber is Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice-president at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Professor of Physiology, Biomedical Engineering & Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, and Senior Research Career Scientist at the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital. He is internationally recognized as an expert in skeletal muscle structure and function. His research focuses on skeletal muscle properties in individuals with neurological disorders such as spinal cord injury or cerebral palsy.
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