Frequent questions about spinal injury care:
What is a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)?
A spinal cord injury results from damage to the bundle of nerves (the spinal cord) that lies within the spinal vertebrae (bones) and extends from the brain down your neck and back. These nerves branch out to provide movement and feeling to specific areas of the body so if damage occurs the communication between your brain and your arms and legs is interrupted.
The spinal cord can be damaged by trauma (e.g. road traffic accidents, falls, sports injuries, knife/gun shot wounds) that displaces bone fragments, spinal disc material or ligaments within the spine which either cuts, bruises or puts pressure on the nerves. Alternatively, it may be damaged by diseases such as Transverse Myelitis, Polio, Spina Bifida. However, whatever the cause, damage will result in partial or complete paralysis that may or may not recover.
A spinal cord injury is different from back injuries such as a ‘slipped’ disc or trapped nerve. It is also possible for a person to break their back or neck but not sustain a spinal cord injury. This happens if the fracture is stable and the broken bones do not damage the spinal cord.
What services do you provide?
Spinal Cord Injury Services Ltd. provides specialist physiotherapy, and through our associates, occupational therapy and orthotics. We are well connected and are able to provide appropriate onward referral should you also need to see a specialist doctor. For a full range of our treatment interventions see .
In addition to treatment we offer tailor-made training sessions for patients’ relatives, personal assistants and carers as well as other health professionals and service industry providers and their employees. We also provide consultancy services, including medico-legal (Quantum) reports for compensation claims.
At what stage of my injury will I benefit from your services?
As soon as you have completed your rehabilitation in hospital and have returned to your home, or alternative accommodation, in the community you may benefit from our services. We see people throughout the duration of their lifetime from just a few months to many years following their injury.
How can I get referred for treatment?
We accept self-referrals, i.e. directly from you, as well as referrals from other health professionals involved in your care, case managers and personal injury lawyers.
Our clinicians are all highly skilled and have worked for a minimum of five years within the field of spinal cord injury. However, for many it is much longer than this. They have all spent time working at one of the leading centres for Spinal Cord Injury rehabilitation in the UK and, because of this, have developed very specialist knowledge and expertise through years of clinical experience.
All of our clinicians are state registered with the Health Professions Council and are a member of their relevant professional body. They all continue to update their skills as treatments develop and share a keen interest in working with new rehabilitation products as they become available.
Where, and how often, will my treatment take place?
Our aim is to deliver our services to you in your own home, or at your own premises, up and down the country. We believe this makes for a hugely convenient and meaningful experience, allowing us to make our treatment or training more relevant to your personal environment.
The frequency of treatment will depend on your personal treatment needs. The majority of patients will require a burst of treatment, for example four to six sessions, to treat a particular problem but in some instances on-going intervention may be indicated. We work to achieve specific goals set out in discussion with you during your first appointment. This will determine the number of sessions required. However, you are under no obligation to continue with treatment at any time.
How much do your services cost?
We charge £110, plus expenses, for an initial consultation lasting a minimum of 90 minutes. Following this you will be offered a tailor-made treatment package with no obligation to proceed.
For more information and for details of what is included in our expenses please see .
Prices are available on application for all of our training and consultancy services.
Do you treat conditions other than Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)?
Our clinicians are equipped to effectively treat other conditions affecting the nervous system leading to partial or complete paralysis, for example Multiple Sclerosis, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Motor Neurone Disease. We welcome all enquiries so, if in doubt, please do not hesitate to contact us.
For further information, please contact us >>
