Pressure sores (also called bedsores, decubitus ulcers or pressure ulcers) can seriously affect people who are living with a spinal cord injury and others who use wheelchairs for daily living. We produced this guide to explain:
- What they are
- How to prevent them
- How to best treat them if they occur
- How to talk to your health care team about your skin health
It can be hard to learn to manage your health when you have a spinal cord injury or other chronic condition, especially if you can’t find simple and clear explanations of what you can do to look after yourself. Access to health care and related services, especially expertise in spinal cord injury, is often limited for people in rural communities. With this guide we want to increase access to research and education by describing the experts’ recommendations in everyday language, and using pictures to explain important points.
Pamela Houghton, Professor and MClSc Program Chair, School of Physical Therapy, Western University, wrote the guide’s forward and confirms how crucial it is to prevent the challenges that can come with pressure sores:
“As a researcher I have led several projects that developed therapies that speed healing of pressure sores. We have tested them within different health care models that exist in Canada. The stories of individuals with spinal cord injury who were trying to navigate a very fragmented health care system will stay with me for life. Many people I met had been troubled with pressure sores for years. I will never forget when one of the participants said that the impact of living with a pressure sore was greater than the initial spinal cord injury.”
The publication is funded by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation in partnership with Praxis Spinal Cord Institute (formerly Rick Hansen Institute). You’ll notice it is identified both as an SCIO and Cortree product. Cortree is a social venture owned by Spinal Cord Injury Ontario (SCIO). All proceeds from licensing, sales and partnerships are reinvested in SCIO to support new programs and services, education and advocacy campaigns by and for people with disabilities.
How to access the guide:
- SCIO clients can access a print version from their regional staff contacts (Regional Service Co-ordinator or Peer Support Co-ordinator)
- SCIO Core Members (clients, registered SCIO community members with an SCI, registered family members) can access a digital version of the guide on Cortree – learn more on our site.
- Clinicians can join Cortree and purchase a license to print and distribute multiple copies of the guide, at which time they will be able to download a high resolution file for print. Learn more at Cortree.
Spinal Cord Injury Ontario | Fall/Winter 2024
