Upper extremity functional restoration for spinal cord injury

Overview

Occupational therapy sessions help improve movement in the hand.

If you've experienced a spinal cord injury, you may benefit from therapy to help improve physical function in your upper extremities — your shoulders, arms, forearms, wrists and hands. Therapists use several techniques to restore movement needed in your daily life, including nerve re-education, muscle strengthening, task training and others. Therapists work with you to reduce your long-term complications and help you regain the ability to perform self-care and daily activities. Read more about upper extremity functional restoration.

Staff also may use functional electrical stimulation (FES) to help improve your movement in your arms, wrists and hands. In FES, small electric currents applied to specific muscles cause the muscles to contract. FES may help you perform tasks such as grasping or holding an item, and enhance your ability to perform daily living skills. FES may also be used as an exercise tool to promote overall fitness and wellness in your spinal cord injury recovery.

Why choose Mayo Clinic for upper extremity functional restoration for spinal cord injury

• Experience. Mayo Clinic doctors and staff have helped thousands of people recover from traumatic spinal cord injuries and nontraumatic spinal disorders using many therapies. Mayo Clinic's therapists have expertise in helping you enhance functional abilities in your upper extremities. The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) has accredited the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Facilities /spinal-cord-injury-rehabilitation-rst/ at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
• Integrated team. Mayo Clinic's spinal cord injury rehabilitation team is led by doctors trained in physical medicine and rehabilitation, bone and muscle surgery (orthopedic surgeons), and brain and nervous system surgery (neurosurgeons). Your treatment team also includes nurses, mental health providers, physical therapists, occupational and recreational therapists, and other specialists.
• Individualized care. Your doctors will create an individualized treatment plan to meet your needs. Therapists will work with you to determine if upper extremity functional restoration may help meet your needs. The team considers you and your family to be an integral part of the treatment team, and you'll be informed and involved in making decisions and setting goals.
• Treatment and follow-up care. Mayo Clinic doctors trained in physical medicine and rehabilitation and other staff offer a full range of spinal cord injury rehabilitation services. Your spinal cord injury rehabilitation team provides inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation and lifelong care. Pediatric specialists trained in physical medicine and rehabilitation care for children with spinal cord injuries at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
• Research. Mayo Clinic researchers study outcomes, rehabilitation options and potential treatments for people with spinal cord injuries and conduct clinical trials.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., is ranked among the Best Hospitals for rehabilitation by U.S. News & World Report.

Mayo Clinic: Answers you can trust

At Mayo Clinic, we assemble a team of specialists who take the time to listen and thoroughly understand your health issues and concerns. We tailor the care you receive to your personal health care needs. You can trust our specialists to collaborate and offer you the best possible outcomes, safety and service.

Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical institution that reinvests all earnings into improving medical practice, research and education. We're constantly involved in innovation and medical research, finding solutions to improve your care and quality of life. Your doctor or someone on your medical team is likely involved in research related to your condition.

Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care — and trusted answers — like they've never experienced.

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Read more about diagnosis and treatment of spinal cord injury.