Jones-Hedman walker modification for C7 quadriplegic patient: case study in team cooperation.
A 20-year-old man with C7 quadriplegia was admitted to a tertiary care rehabilitation facility 1.5 months after discharge from an acute care community hospital. The patient's goals were to improve his skills in activities of daily living to a level of maximum independence, and to walk. Although his high level of spinal cord injury made ambulation unlikely, an occupational therapist and a rehabilitation engineer, working together, devised a method to help the patient meet his ambulation goal. They modified an ordinary walker by fabricating polyvinyl chloride-acrylic alloy guards lined with foam to reduce palmar pressure. The patient was then able to use wrist and finger extension during walker advancement and was able to ambulate 300m with Craig-Scott orthosis. The case illustrates the importance of a skilled interdisciplinary team in a specialized center for management of spinal cord injured patients.
D000328:Adult; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009983:Orthopedic Equipment; D009989:Orthotic Devices; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014853:Walkers