Saturday, December 12, 2009

New Mobility Article on Osteoporosis and SCI

For the last few years I've been a subscriber of New Mobility, which is a magazine that covers numerous aspects of the lifestyle of wheelchair users. I've actually subscribed to this particular magazine on two separate occasions over the past thirteen years. The first time was back in 1996 when I was provided with a complimentary one year subscription from Craig Hospital upon my discharge from rehab. But I hardly ever read it back then. That was even despite my parent's best efforts at getting me to do so at times. My mom repeatedly mentioned how much she enjoyed reading about all of the various disability issues. The implication being that if she, an able-bodied person, enjoyed reading it so much that I certainly would too. And just about every time my dad was on his way to recycle the magazines with the newspapers he would stop by my room and ask me if I wanted to read the latest issue of NM before he tossed it out. Then even after I said "no" he tended to linger with the magazine outstretched in my direction as if to say, "Are you sure? This is why we have the subscription."

At the time I'm sure they figured that flipping through the magazine, which is filled with plenty of insight and useful information about disabilities, might help me adjust to my new lifestyle a little more. But my lack of desire to check out NM back then was pretty unwavering. My rationale was along the lines of "I live the disability lifestyle as it is, so why would I want to read about things I deal with every day already?" The thought of it was kind of a bummer. Looking back I now realize that my ignorance towards reading NM was just a part of the early mental/emotional recovery of learning to live with a spinal cord injury. I was exhibiting willful indifference. In other words, in a small way reading NM and about other people's adventures with SCI made mine very real. And although I started to deal with my situation with a very realistic and healthy manner from the start, in a small way being presented with that magazine each month signified something about my life that I didn't want to be entirely real yet.


Ultimately, my parents quit renewing the subscription for NM because it was pretty much a waste of money since I wasn't reading it. But flash forward to recent history and out of the blue one day I went to the website and ordered a subscription. First, I'm obviously much more adjusted and accepting of my situation and have reached a point where everything that NM is about is a welcome read. Second, I have aspirations of practicing disability law as my primary career focus, so some short time after I became a licensed attorney I saw the magazine as another way to stay in touch with every day issues of people with disabilities, accessibility, and disability rights. And third, me and two good friends in the greater Minneapolis region are starting up a Minnesota chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (http://www.spinalcord.org/), and I saw NM as a good resource for disability related products and services that we might want to incorporate into our own chapter's resource center. So it all came full circle with New Mobility.

That's why I found it so interesting that the December issue of NM features an article about the relationship between spinal cord injuries and osteoporosis. Most interesting of course because I discovered this article just a few days after I wrapped up my own four part blog post about finding out that I have severe osteoporosis due to living with SCI for over thirteen years. Sort of makes me wonder if I either have a little Nostradamus in me or if my apartment is bugged. Regardless, it's good to see that a well read nationally published disability magazine has taken the initiative to discuss a lost in the mix health issue that affects so many people with SCI without them even realizing it. For those interested the article can be found
here.

A few noteworthy things about this article from my perspective: 1) It says that until recently the dangers posed by osteoporosis for people with disabilities was an afterthought, so there are probably tons of people like me over the years who were surprised when they got the same medical diagnosis. 2) Really fragile bones (loss of 50% or more of BMD) can break simply by rolling or stretching. That made me cringe because I roll to sleep on my side and to get dressed as well as stretch my legs in bed every day. Hopefully, mine never become "fragile." 3) The bone loss with paralysis is surprisingly quite rapid. The average male paraplegic loses 25% bone mineral density in the first one and a half years post-injury. 4) There are supposedly no proven treatments for osteoporosis in people with spinal cord injuries, but taking daily doses of calcium and vitamin D helps best for now. As for other tidbits, the article cites a few gnarly anecdotes about how a few people with osteoporosis broke their lower limbs, as well as emphasizes good body positioning and secure transfers in and out of the wheelchair.

4 comments:

  1. Your posts are addicting.

    Learning more about SCI is addicting too. This week alone, I must have done about 9-10 internet searches of my own on the topic. Perhaps the blog needs a Q&A section.

    M

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I am making another comment on this post. I'm banking on you giving the go ahead for questions. If not, feel free to leave this post "unapproved."

    What does the term "incomplete" mean for your SCI?
    What was the last merit badge you earned before your Eagle project?
    How does the driver seat of your vehicle contrast to mine?
    What was your Eagle project?
    Hoveround Commercials...yay or nay?
    In the television interest section of my Facebook page, I had previously listed Hoveround commercials among Curb Your Enthusiasm and M*A*S*H*. Beyond the catchy lyrics and beaming smiles, the routines were SYNCHRONIZED! On a side note, I once watched a video showing a backhoe ballet of sorts set to classical music and loved the originality of the performance! Now, looking at the section through new eyes, I was thinking this might be viewed negatively. The commercial is obviously marketed for an older crowd but likely promote mobility stereotypes. Thanks for the new goggles Shawn Dean.

    Don't feel pressured to address my curiosity.

    M

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you are into the blog and looking to learn more about SCI, that’s cool. No problem, ask away.

    What does the term "incomplete" mean for your SCI?
    There are two types of spinal cord injuries, complete and incomplete. Complete injuries typically involve the spinal cord getting completely severed and causing paralysis. Incomplete injuries typically involve the spinal cord getting damaged bad enough to cause significant paralysis but the spinal cord doesn’t get completely severed. I have the latter, which I'm fortunate for because I think it will be easier to possibly regenerate the damaged nerves someday (pending cure for paralysis). Depending on the specific injury people with incomplete SCI can still have certain sensitivities below their level of injury.

    What was the last merit badge you earned before your Eagle project?
    I don’t specifically recall. My best guess would be small boat sailing because I earned it while I taught the merit badge class when I worked at Camp Phillips Boy Scout camp near Rice Lake the summer before my accident. Up until then I had never sailed a boat in my life, which made my assignment to teach the class a curious one but that's another story. For the most part I had the requisite amount of merit badges for Eagle wrapped up well in advance of the deadline.

    What was your Eagle project?
    The short answer is that I built an outdoor sand volleyball court at my church. The longer story is that the project was less than a quarter completed when I had my accident. I was relying on a member of my church with a backhoe to do the digging. He got in one good digging session and that was it, because on account of weather and his paying side jobs my project kept getting the brush off. Since Eagle projects are in large part about voluntary involvement and donations it wasn’t as simple as paying someone to dig the court out. As of a few weeks before my accident I was over there with shovels and a wheelbarrow digging it by hand while I waited. After my accident (July 12) the clock was ticking because Eagle paperwork must be filed by the scout’s 18th birthday (October 31). So we had to figure things out from my hospital room. Through scouting friend connections someone’s time and a bobcat were donated for the digging and they filmed it so I could see. I got the sand (four dump truck loads) and volleyball posts donated. FYI that story was the subject of my personal statement I submitted with my law school applications.

    How does the driver seat of your vehicle contrast to mine?
    It’s in stark contrast because I drive from my wheelchair. A bolt fixed to the bottom frame of my chair snaps into a lockdown unit on the floor of my van so I stay securely in place. The driver’s seat that came with my van is on wheels and can be rolled and snapped into position so anyone can drive. Anticipating the follow up question, I use hand controls to for the gas and break and steer by putting my hand in a form fitting “tri-pin” on my steering wheel.

    Hoveround Commercials...yay or nay?
    I say nay for a handful of reasons. First, the product looks chinsy to me: a pleather covered foam rubber looking back and seat rest and small wheels you usually see on scooters. It doesn’t scream full time mobility device. Second, I feel like the company lacks credibility for two reasons. First, because of their commercials. They play up the “comfort” and how “easy” it is to get and how it “didn’t cost a dime” i.e. possibly taking advantage of insurance or some other third party paying loopholes. Second, when I was in the shopping phase of getting my new chair I might have tried 6-8 different wheelchairs and companies and at no point was Hoveround an option, which speaks volumes about the product and the company. Nobody with a permanent disability who uses a wheelchair would consider getting one. They’re kind of a joke. And their commercials drive me nuts. But hey, that’s just my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  4. THANKS for taking the time to answer my questions. Of course, now I have more. Time for more research…

    M

    ReplyDelete