Access limitations and level of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in a geographically-limited sample of individuals with spinal cord injury.

Objectives: Assess changes in access and psychological status during the COVID-19 pandemic in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Study Design: Cohort telephone survey study.

Setting: South Florida SCI Model System (SF-SCIMS).

Upper Extremity Overuse Injuries and Obesity After Spinal Cord Injury.

Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) are at high risk for developing neurogenic obesity due to muscle paralysis and obligatory sarcopenia, sympathetic blunting, anabolic deficiency, and blunted satiety. Persons with SCI are also at high risk for shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand injuries, including neuromusculoskeletal pathologies and nociceptive pain, as human upper extremities are poorly designed to facilitate chronic weight-bearing activities, including manual wheelchair propulsion, transfers, self-care, and day-to-day activities. This article reviews current literature on the relationship between obesity and increased body weight with upper extremity overuse injuries, detailing pathology at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists that elicit pain and functional decline and stressing the importance of weight management to preserve function.