Top ten research priorities for spinal cord injury.

Top ten research priorities for spinal cord injury # Priority question 1 Does activity based rehabilitation, including functional electrical stimulation coupled with physical activity and hydrotherapy, improve outcomes such as muscle function and neuroplasticity after spinal cord injury? 2 Does stem cell therapy result in better outcomes after spinal cord injury and does this depend on the type of injury (e.g. acute or chronic; complete or incomplete)? 3 Does the provision of care packages in the community, including physiotherapy, after discharge from hospital improve the health and wellbeing of people living with spinal cord injury? 4 Which bladder management strategy is most effective in reducing the number of urinary tract infections and secondary complications that may result from these after spinal cord injury? 5 Does early mobilisation or a period of 4-6 weeks of physically active bed rest result in improved patient outcomes after surgical spinal column stabilisation? 6 Does discharge from a hospital to a physically enabling environment, including people and facilities which enable a person to become physically active, improve the quality of life of spinal cord injury patients? 7 Does the provision of specialist rehabilitation services, which includes multidisciplinary team planning, improve the health and wellbeing of spinal cord injury patients? 8 Do interventions including controlled fibre and fluid intake after spinal cord injury improve individuals' bowel function and quality of life? 9 What are the effects of ageing after spinal cord injury on the development of complications, including spasticity and bladder and bowel incontinence, and need for home-based support? 10 Does early diagnosis and treatment lead to improved outcomes for people with (a) cauda equina syndrome and (b) transverse myelitis (including relapses)? Further information about the SCI-PSP including details of applied methodology and related publications can be found on the website: