How to Enhance Your Life After a Spinal Cord Injury

Picture: Romain Virtuel

Experiencing a spinal cord injury that leaves you paralyzed from the waist down with paraplegia can be traumatic. Many people can’t help but mourn for the things they took for granted, like walking and being able to take care of themselves.

It’s only natural to experience significant mental health challenges. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t live a full and rewarding life. Sometimes, the actions below can help you get the most out of every day.   

Ask for Help

As hard as it can be to ask for help, relying on a support network may help you feel less isolated and alone. Whether you reach out to loved ones or inquire about assisted living for paraplegics, you may be surprised by how much your life may change for the better.

Assisted living communities, in particular, can be of great value for people living with paraplegia. You can receive help with daily activities like transportation and hygiene, freeing up your time for more of the activities you love to boost your mood.

Prioritize Rehabilitation

You might not be able to regain function in the parts of your body affected by your spinal cord injury. However, that’s not to say that rehabilitation can’t help you make some improvements. Customized exercise plans created by trained physical therapists may greatly help people with reduced body function. Occupational therapy may also be valuable for improving your strength, mobility, and independence.

Use Assistive Devices

There’s no denying that partaking in regular activities can be much more challenging when you’ve experienced a spinal cord injury. Something as simple as getting dressed or showering is no longer as easy as it once was.

Fortunately, many assistive devices now exist for people with spinal injuries to maintain greater levels of independence. Alongside manual, power, sport, and power-assisted wheelchairs, people living with spinal cord injuries can also use hand bikes, electric beds, and self-care tools like dressing sticks, reaching devices, and adapted silverware.   

Make Home Modifications

A spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia can sometimes see people’s homes become no longer fit for purpose. While moving to a more user-friendly house is an option, you can also often modify your own home to make it more suitable.

Widening doorways, installing ceiling hoists and stairlifts, and changing features to be at wheelchair height are all ideal options. The more of these modifications you make, the more self-sufficient you can often be, and the better your quality of life might be.

Pursue New Hobbies

Some of your favorite hobbies may now no longer be achievable with your spinal cord injury. That doesn’t have to mean you no longer get to do anything fun in your spare time. You now have an opportunity to participate in new hobbies.

You can try several rewarding activities that might even promote recovery, like horseback riding, swimming, yoga, and archery. If you’re a sports fan, wheelchair basketball also may be worth exploring.

Living with paraplegia doesn’t have to mean living in isolation and without joy in your life. Some of the tasks above may help you start living life to the fullest and on your own terms.