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Electronic Theses and Dissertations

2017

Spinal cord injury

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Stretching Adversely Modulates Locomotor Capacity Following Spinal Cord Injury Via Activation Of Nociceptive Afferents., Anastasia V. Keller Aug 2017

Stretching Adversely Modulates Locomotor Capacity Following Spinal Cord Injury Via Activation Of Nociceptive Afferents., Anastasia V. Keller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is the second leading cause of paralysis in the United States, affecting around 282,000 people with 17,000 new cases each year. Initial and secondary damage to the spinal cord disrupts multiple descending pathways that modulate the function of sympathetic preganglionic neurons and central pattern generating circuitry. Resulting loss of autonomic and locomotor functions, as well as decreased levels of physical activity, lead to a myriad of complications that affect multiple organ systems and significantly reduce both quality of life and life expectancy in individuals with SCI. Spasticity and muscle contractures are two common secondary conditions that …


Spinal Cord Injury Induced Cardiac Decline And The Limitations Of Exercise., Kathryn Michele Deveau May 2017

Spinal Cord Injury Induced Cardiac Decline And The Limitations Of Exercise., Kathryn Michele Deveau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a general consensus that the level and the severity of spinal cord injury (SCI) impacts chronic cardiac abnormalities such that high thoracic and cervical SCI are the most severely affected. Furthermore, the extreme degree of immobility/inactivity experienced by the persons with SCI has implications on cardiac decline. Yet it has been difficult to separate the relative contributions of the decentralized autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the immediate and profound inactivity to chronic cardiac abnormalities. As such, this body of work sought to characterize a contusion SCI that results in persistent CV dysfunction. Echocardiography, Dobutamine stress echocardiography and pressure …