The Rehabilitation of Spinal Cord Injury Patients in Europe

Giorgio Scivoletto; Massimo Miscusi; Stefano Forcato; Luca Ricciardi; Mariano Serrao; Roberto Bellitti; Antonino Raco

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-39546-3_31

The Rehabilitation of Spinal Cord Injury Patients in Europe

Acta Neurochir Suppl. 2017:124:203-210. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-39546-3_31.

Authors

Giorgio Scivoletto¹, Massimo Miscusi², Stefano Forcato³, Luca Ricciardi⁴, Mariano Serrao², Roberto Bellitti⁵, Antonino Raco⁶

Affiliations

¹ Spinal Cord Unit, IRCCS S. Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy. g.scivoletto@hsantalucia.it.
² Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Neursciences NESMOS, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Institute of Neurosurgery, Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
⁵ Department of Radiology, Cerignola Civic Hospital, Cerignola(FG), Italy.
⁶ Departement of Neurosciences NESMOS, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

PMID: 28120075
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-39546-3_31

Abstract

In Western European countries there is an incidence of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) of 16 to 19.4 new cases per million inhabitants per year. Since World War II, European physicians have been fundamental in the development of SCI medicine, starting from Sir Ludwig Guttman, who developed the idea of the integrated treatment of these patients. More recently, scientists from Germany and Switzerland have developed a new rehabilitative approach, Body Weight Support Treadmill Training, based on the concept of activity-based therapy and aimed at restoring walking in SCI patients. This review highlights issues concerning different organizational systems and health policies within and outside Europe.

Keywords: Historical perspective; Rehabilitation; Spinal Cord Injury.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Europe / epidemiology
Health Policy*
Humans
Neurological Rehabilitation / methods*
Spinal Cord Injuries / epidemiology
Spinal Cord Injuries / rehabilitation*