Obesity and spinal cord injury: An observational study

Abstract

Obesity as an independent factor influencing the eventual rehabilitation outcome of spinal cord injured individuals has not been examined. This paper is an observational study of two patients with complete tetraplegia secondary to spinal cord injury. Both patients encountered several problems specifically related to their obesity which interfered with the rehabilitation process, and both were far below the expected functional outcome level for a C7 tetraplegic individual at the time of their discharge. Both patients were discharged to facilities providing the highest level of care available in the province.