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Adult Injuries

Canadian Athletes Head to Tokyo for 2020 Paralympic Games

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The long awaited Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games have finally arrived. The Paralympics will run from August 24 to September 5, 2021. During that time, approximately 4,400 athletes will compete in the Games. Among them will be 128 Canadian athletes competing in a variety of sports.

The Summer Paralympic Games showcase 22 sports in 539 medal events. Paralympic sports include archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, canoe, cycling, equestrian, football 5-a-side, goalball, judo, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby, and wheelchair tennis. Most of these sports are parallel sports to those featured in the Olympic Games with adapted rules or equipment. Sport classifications are based on type of impairment with a wide range of sporting opportunities available for different impairment types. Individuals competing in the Paralympic Games have overcome impairments caused by cerebral palsy, brain injury, amputation, spinal cord injury, visual impairment and more to represent their countries at the highest level of sporting competition.

Boccia is one of two Paralympic sports without an Olympic equivalent. It is the Paralympic version of Bocce. Like lawn bowling or curling, it is a sport that requires a high degree of precision and accuracy. Competition can be individual, pairs or team play. It is played by athletes with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and related disabilities. Canadians to keep an eye on in Tokyo include Alison Levine and Danik Allard. Levine was recruited into the sport from a sporting history of horseback riding, wheelchair basketball, sledge hockey and wheelchair rugby. She goes into the Paralympics ranked No. 1 in the world. Allard is the youngest member

of the Canadian boccia team. He was the 2019 NextGen star of the year with a goal of reaching the 2024 Paralympics. His recent successes led to him being named to the team for this year.

One of the highlights of the Paralympics is the opportunity for Paralympians to show the world that sport is not solely the domain of able-bodied athletes. The athletes representing Canada will be role models for Canadian youth, particularly for those with their own visual or motor impairments who may not have previously known about the level of competitive sport available to them. Patrick Anderson, for example, is a wheelchair basketball legend, widely considered one of the greatest of all time in the sport. He lost both legs below the knee at the age of 9 and went on to participate in four (Tokyo will be five) Paralymics, winning three gold medals and one silver. Amy Burk, a veteran of the Canadian goalball team, having attended three previous Paralympic Games, was born with albinism and a visual impairment. Renee Foessel, born with cerebral palsy that affects movement in the right side of her body, recently set a world record in F38 discus. She will be looking to medal in Tokyo after narrowly missing the podium with a fourth place finish in Rio. Also in the hunt for a medal will be swimmer Abi Tripp. Tripp lives with dystonic cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs. She made the finals in three swimming events in Rio when she was only 15 years of age. Rob Shaw suffered a spinal cord injury in a diving accident as a young adult resulting in incomplete quadriplegia. He made history when he won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games, becoming the first Canadian to win a singles competition tennis medal (standing or wheelchair tennis) in a multi-sport event.

Best of luck to all the Canadian athletes participating in the Tokyo Paralympic Games!

Resources:

Boccia Canada

Boccia | SportAbility (sportabilitybc.ca)

Paralympic.ca

Kingston swimmer headed to Tokyo Paralympic Games – Kingston News (kingstonist.com)

June is Brain Injury Awareness Month

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Brain injuries can happen for a multitude of reasons such as strokes, car accidents, sports or other health-related situations. Each year in Canada, more than 20,000 people are hospitalized for traumatic brain injuries, and about 6,500 people in British Columbia suffer strokes each year. Many brain injuries are not visible, but they can have a serious effect on an individual’s ability to live a healthy life. Although living with a brain injury brings monumental challenges, the month of June is designated to bring awareness to the effects and prevalence of brain injuries as well as the support available to people who may need it.

The goal of the British Columbia Brain injury Association (BCBIA) is to improve the lives of people living with an acquired brain injury as well as to help educate people without an injury as how best to support brain injury survivors. BCBIA has partnered with many foundations all over BC, so finding resources close to you is an easier process.

The Stroke Recovery Association of British Columbia (SRABC) focusses specifically on supporting people who have had a stroke and they offer programs and resources for people throughout the province. SRABC has continued to operate throughout the Covid-19 pandemic by moving many of its programs online, with plans to move back to in-person programs eventually. In addition to programs to improve mobility and language recovery following a stroke, SRABC offers social support and strives to empower survivors to live fulfilling lives post-stroke.  

Another valuable resource is March of Dimes Canada’s Brain Injury Services operating out of BC, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. March of Dimes is a non-profit organization whose aim is to help individuals “regain their purpose and become as independent as possible.”[1] The organization’s Brain Injury Services provides rehabilitation and social support services tailored to the needs of the individual and include physical rehabilitation, community outreach services that tackle task specific activities of daily living, and adult day programs that help address the social, cognitive, physical and emotional skills that may have been affected by a brain injury.

Recovering from a brain injury can be a lengthy and slow process but it doesn’t need to happen alone. The resources mentioned above are only some of the services available in BC as well as the rest of Canada. We can all do our part and become more informed about supporting those who have experienced a brain injury.

If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury which you believe may be due to medical negligence, contact Pacific Medical Law. We have extensive experience in brain injury cases and are committed to helping those who have suffered these types of injury maximize their recovery.

[1] https://www.marchofdimes.ca/en-ca/programs/abi

ICORD – Advancing Research in Spinal Cord Injuries

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Did you know that British Columbia has a world leading research centre focussing on spinal cord injuries?   ICORD, the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, is located in the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre at Vancouver General Hospital. ICORD’s mission is to conduct research and training to promote prevention, functional recovery, and improved quality of life after spinal cord injury (SCI).

You Can Participate in Research

People with spinal cord injuries are invited to participate in the many research projects underway through ICORD.  Some of the studies involve physical activity. For example one study is looking at the effect of following international exercise guidelines for six months. Other studies involve medical treatments or procedures, like the study investigating the impact of intermittent catheterization on the health of people with SCI, specifically related to urinary tract infections and episodes of autonomic dysreflexia. A lot of the research done through ICORD is survey-based, so you don’t even have to be in the Lower Mainland to participate. Researchers are looking for input on a variety of issues from both people with spinal cord injuries as well as from family caregivers.

Check out the ICORD website through the link below to find out what studies are underway, and which ones you might be able to participate in.  Each study includes a description that lets you know the goals of the study and who is eligible to participate. Why should you get involved in research? By contributing to research, you can help make the world a better place for everybody with a spinal cord injury.  But don’t take our word for it.  Five people who have participated in ICORD research studies were interviewed about their experiences. Most of these people have participated in multiple studies, in some cases so many that they can’t remember them all. You can view that video on the ICORD website, or through the link below.

Keep Informed

Through the ICORD website you can keep up with the latest research and developments about spinal cord injuries. You can subscribe to the ICORDian, the quarterly community newsletter that highlights topics of interest to those with SCI and their loved ones.

In addition to the newsletter, the ICORD Resource Centre publishes easy-to-understand summaries of ICORD scientific papers on the SCInfo blog.  This blog translates scientific literature on various SCI related topics into easy-to-understand summaries for those of us without a science background. Each summary captures the main ideas from research articles published by investigators at ICORD or elsewhere.

Contact us

At Pacific Medical Law, we are committed to helping those who have suffered life-altering injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury or other injury that may have been caused or worsened by medical negligence, please contact us to discuss your concerns. We will provide you with our opinion on your legal rights and options, for no charge.

ICORD Links:

Listen to study participants: https://youtu.be/T5XB9ysI4cI

Find a study:  Participate in a Study | ICORD

Subscribe to the newsletter: Newsletters | ICORD

Keep up-to-date with the SCInfo blog:  SCInfo

Stroke and Depression – What Patients and Caregivers Should Know

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Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash

A stroke is a medical condition which occurs when blood stops flowing to part of the brain, damaging brain cells. The effects of stroke depend on the part of brain that was damaged and the amount of damage done. If identified and treated promptly, a stroke can often have only mild consequences. However, people who have debilitating strokes can experience physical, cognitive and speech deficits.

Many patients who have suffered a stroke experience post stroke depression, or PSD, which affects about 1/3 of stroke survivors and can occur any time following a stroke. People with PSD are at higher risk for suboptimal recovery, recurrent strokes, poor quality of life, and mortality. PSD also may make the rehabilitation process more difficult for survivors to do the hard work that is required.

PSD is likely caused by a combination of biological and psychosocial factors, but the pathophysiology is complex. Some studies have found that PSD may have an underlying biological cause, with proposed biological factors including lesion location, genetic susceptibility, and inflammation. Other studies have revealed an association between PSD and physical and cognitive deficits, suggesting that PSD may be a psychological reaction to these deficits. More research is needed to better understand the cause of PSD with an aim to develop targeted interventions for prevention and treatment.

Emotional signs of PSD can include:

  • Feeling sad, anxious, nervous, guilty, irritable, or hopeless
  • No longer being interested in things you used to enjoy
  • Difficulty focussing, remembering, or making decisions
  • Constant thoughts of death

Physical signs of PSD can include:

  • Changes in sleep pattern (sleeping less or sleeping more than normal)
  • Changes in appetite
  • Weight gain or loss
  • Feeling tired, loss of energy
  • Restlessness
  • Persistent headaches
  • Chronic pain
  • Digestive problems (stomach aches, nausea, constipation, diarrhea)

You should contact your doctor if you have any of these symptoms for more than two weeks so that you can get treatment. Treatment can involve therapy by speaking to a trained mental health professional, taking medication, or both.

As difficult as it may be, sharing your feelings is a step toward meeting your recovery goals. This can include speaking to family, friends, or other stroke survivors or members of your healthcare team. You may also wish to join or start a support group. However, if any of your feelings become overwhelming, talk with your doctor right away.

If you or a loved one has suffered a stroke which you believe may be due to medical negligence, contact Pacific Medical Law. We have extensive experience in stroke cases and are committed to helping those who have suffered a stroke or other brain injury maximize their recovery.

Spinal Cord Stimulation – Potential Game-Changer for Spinal Cord Injuries?

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At Pacific Medical Law we have helped clients with spinal cord injuries that have been caused by, or worsened by, medical negligence.  Delayed diagnosis of spinal cord infections, delayed treatment of spinal cord compression or improper treatment of traumatic spinal cord injuries can all lead to life-altering injuries.

Sometimes, however, spinal cord injuries are caused by trauma alone, such as motor vehicle accidents. Ryan Straschnitzki is an example of that.  Ryan is a survivor of the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash who was paralyzed from the chest down. In early December 2019, he returned to his home in Airdrie, Alberta after spending five weeks in Thailand having a spinal cord stimulator implanted. Since his surgery, he is beginning to be able to move his legs and has seen slow but steady progress after having the surgery, stem cell injections, and intensive physiotherapy.  Ryan is hoping to make Canada’s national sled hockey team and play at the Paralympics.

Limited Approval in North America

Spinal cord stimulators are approved for use in Canada and the USA to treat chronic back pain, but not for treating spinal cord injuries, where they may play a role in improving mobility, as in Ryan’s case. 

There is also a potential role for spinal cord stimulators in improving blood pressure control in those with a spinal cord injury. Vancouver’s International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (iCord), conducts research on various therapies, treatments, and surgeries that may help people with spinal cord injuries.  iCord reported on a BC man who suffered a spinal cord injury due to a diving accident and had a spinal cord stimulator implanted not to improve his mobility, but to improve cardiovascular function.  Prior to the procedure, Isaac Darrel, of Langley, BC, often felt light-headed, especially during transfers to and from his wheelchair or during exercise.  His blood pressure would drop dramatically, and he would sometimes blackout while sitting in his wheelchair. Now that he has the spinal cord stimulator, that no longer happens. He has also experienced increased sitting tolerance and improved bowel function.

Ongoing Research

There are no centers in Canada conducting further clinical studies on the use of spinal cord stimulators to improve blood pressure control, but studies are ongoing in the USA and Switzerland.

Research on the use of spinal-cord stimulators for the purpose of regaining mobility is underway in Minneapolis and is being conducted in collaboration with researchers from iCord and the University of Calgary. Dr. David Darrow is the chief resident of neurosurgery and a researcher at the University of Minnesota. He estimates that thousands of people have had spinal cord stimulator implants for relieving chronic pain, but only about 30 people in the US have had implants to restore mobility.  His team has the approval to conduct these surgeries on a research basis.

Not a Panacea

Although spinal cord stimulators hold promise to improve the lives of those with spinal cord injuries, they are not expected to be a panacea that will get people up and walking independently. And having an implant is not without risks. Some people with these implants have experienced unwanted electrical shocks and even burns. There is also the potential for infection, any time a surgical procedure is done.  Nonetheless, improvements in mobility that can assist in making transfers to and from a wheelchair, and improvements in blood pressure control and bowel and bladder function, have the potential to greatly improve the quality of life of those suffering from spinal cord injuries.

If you or a loved one has experienced life-altering injuries from a spinal cord injury that may have been caused by or worsened by, medical negligence, please contact us.  We would be happy to discuss your concerns and outline your options.

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