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Nerve pain is caused by damage to the nervous system including your spinal cord. Damaged nerves send faulty messages to the brain. The brain interprets these messages as pain or discomfort. Nerve pain can happen in areas where you have no other feeling. It can start happening weeks or months after a spinal cord injury.

Postural hypotension is a quick drop in blood pressure that happens when you sit up or stand up. This can be a drop in your systolic blood pressure by 20 mmHg (top number) or your diastolic blood pressure by 10 mmHg (bottom number). It can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded. The feeling is often mild and goes away after a few seconds or minutes. Sometimes, the drop in blood pressure can be more severe and even cause people to faint.

After a spinal cord injury, you are at high risk of getting a pressure sore (bed sore). A pressure sore is a wound caused from constant pressure to the skin. This can cause serious damage your skin. Shifting your weight to reduce pressure is the best way to allow blood to get to your skin.

After a spinal cord injury, daily activities like dressing can be challenging. Certain tricks can help you do more by yourself. Some clothes are easy to put on while others are more difficult. Using adapted devices or adapting your current clothing can help. Also, using the right techniques and positions can make it much easier for you to dress.

After a spinal cord injury, you may have weakness or loss of movement in your hands and fingers. This can make it hard to eat and drink without help. There are devices that can help you eat and drink with little or no assistance. If you have poor feeling, be cautious with hot foods and drinks to avoid burns.

After a spinal cord injury, climbing stairs can be difficult. Practicing a good technique can help you learn to get up stairs alone or with help. Always practice using stairs with your therapist before trying it alone.

A standing step transfer is a technique to move from one surface to another. To do this transfer, you need some leg strength and good balance. You can use a walker or cane to help with the standing part of this transfer. Practice this transfer with your therapist before trying it alone. Your therapist can also help teach an assistant the safest way to help you.

After a spinal cord injury, there is a higher risk of having health issues. These can keep you from doing the things you like. To live a long and healthy life, you will need to take extra care of yourself.

This is a list of local, Canadian and international resources for people who have experienced a suicide attempt or suicidal thoughts and feelings, and people who have been impacted by suicide.

This is a guide for understanding anxiety. It includes strategies for managing it and a list of resources to help cope.

A wheelchair is a great mobility device for getting around. Like any equipment, they have wear and tear. You will need to service your wheelchair to keep it in good working condition. This helps keep your wheelchair safe and prevents problems before they occur. In case of an emergency, it’s good practice to carry a cell phone with you.

This is a handout to explain how Amitriptyline treats pain by increasing the concentrations of chemical messengers in the nervous system to reduce the pain messages arriving in the brain. The pain is usually described as burning, tingling, shooting, or numb. This medication can be used to treat fibromyalgia and prevent migraine headaches.

Assistive Devices Program (ADP) is a government funding program. It pays up to 75% of some mobility devices. For more about this program, visit: www.health.gov.on.ca/adp. To qualify for the program you must meet the following criteria: Valid Ontario Health Card. Have a physical disability

Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is a dangerous rise in blood pressure that can happen after spinal cord injury. It affects people who have a spinal injury at level T6 or above. AD happens when you have pain or discomfort in the areas of your body that have no feeling. The most common cause of AD is a full bowel or bladder. When you have AD, you have other signs and symptoms at the same time. If you have these symptoms, you need to fix the problem right away. AD is a medical emergency. If not treated, it can cause stroke, heart attack, seizure, and death.

Sometimes pain does not go away with medications or other treatments. Pain that lasts many weeks or months is called long-term or chronic pain. After a spinal cord injury, this kind of pain is often caused by damage to your nerves or spinal cord. When your spinal cord does not heal very well, this pain can last for months or even years. This handout will teach some helpful tips for coping with chronic pain.

This is a handout explaining that Duloxetine is a medication that works by increasing the brain levels of two chemical messengers, norepinephrine and serotonin, that help to lessen the intensity of incoming pain signals. It is used to treat pain from damaged nerves, fibromyalgia, chronic low back pain, and knee pain due to osteoarthritis. Duloxetine is also used to treat depression and anxiety.

This is a handout to describe what you need to do after having a Fluoroscopy Procedure.

This is a handout to describe what you need to do before having a Fluoroscopy Procedure.

This is a handout to explain that Gabapentin is used to treat pain from damaged nerves (neuropathic pain). It works by dampening the pain signals sent through the body’s nervous system and can also be used in the treatment of seizure disorders.

When using a wheelchair, going up and down stairs can be challenging. While some people can go up one or two stairs alone, going up many stairs is best done with help. In most cases, you will need at least two assistants to help you up and down stairs. Practice stairs with your therapist before trying it with assistants. Always make sure your assistants are able and strong enough to help you.