Pushin' On: UAB Spinal Cord Injury Model System Digital Newsletter Volume 35 | Number 2

Pushin’ ON VOL 35 | NUM 2 2017 UAB Spinal Cord Injury Model System Digital Newsletter Headline News The University of Alabama at Birmingham Spinal Cord Injury Model System (UAB-SCIMS) provides Pushin’ On twice annually as an informational resource for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). UAB-SCIMS Program Director: Amie B McLain, MD Pushin’ On Editor: Phil Klebine, MA 529 Spain Rehabilitation Center 1717 6th Avenue South Birmingham, AL 35233-7330 Phone: [phone] TDD: 205-934-4642 Fax: [phone] WWW.UAB.EDU/SCI [email protected] /UABSCIMS /UABSCIMS /UABSCIMS The contents of this publication were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90SI5019). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this publication do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. ©2017 University of Alabama Board of Trustees. The University of Alabama at Birmingham provides equal opportunity in education and employment. The UAB Spinal Cord Injury Model System (UAB-SCIMS) has a new video, Professional Insights into Managing Pregnancy after Spinal Cord Injury. This 25 minute video offers a guide for healthcare professionals who encounter women with spinal cord injury who have concerns about having a safe and successful pregnancy. It features UAB-SCIMS experts in the fields of physiatry, nursing, and occupational therapy. And it features an obstetrician who has not had specific training for women with spinal cord injury who are pregnant. None the less, he successfully managed one woman’s journey through two pregnancies, who also shares her pregnancy experiences as a woman with a SCI. In a previous issue of Pushin’ On, we reported on the breakthrough discovery that first enabled four men with paraplegia (two with complete injuries) to voluntarily move their legs after receiving long-term activity- based training along with spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES). Now there’s more progress to report on the project. A study recently published in Scientific Reports describes the recovery of motor function by one of those research participants who originally received the long-term activity-based training with scES. In the article, senior author Susan Harkema, PhD, professor and associate director of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville, and her colleagues report that over the course of 34.5 months following the original training, the participant recovered substantial voluntary lower-limb motor control. Moreover, he regained the ability to stand independently without the use of scES. In this video showing hip and knee flex, the research participant with chronic motor complete spinal cord injury attempts to flex his right hip and subsequently his right knee voluntarily without epidural stimulation. The first segment of this standing video shows the research participant prior to receiving the revised activity-based training, in which he is assisted to a standing position and was unable to stand independently. In the second segment of the video, taken after the intensified training, he is assisted to a standing position and is able to stand while holding the frame for balance without assistance and without epidural stimulation. He also is able to stand on one leg without epidural stimulation. Read the full story here. If you use a wheelchair, it’s important to know whether or not your destination is accessible. While Google already added this information to its Google Maps and Search a while ago, the company has just announced that it will be crowdsourcing a larger set of accessibility options to help those who use wheelchairs gain more information on accessibility. With the help of users, Google aims to add accessibility information to nearly 7 million places around the world. These added options include more information on wheelchair-accessible entrances, wheelchair-accessible elevators, wheelchair-accessible seating, and wheelchair-accessible parking.