Spinal Health Week - Justin Hua

Spinal Health Week (22 – 28 May 2023) is Australia’s longest-running national health awareness campaign dedicated to improving the spinal health of Australians of all ages and abilities.

National SHW2023 is tackling spine related headaches head-on by increasing awareness of the painful condition and improving spinal health through effective, low risk, drug-free solutions that limit the impact headaches have on the quality of life of over 46% of Australians.

Maintaining good spinal health and integrity is of vital importance for many THC/IRFD members and subscribers. So, we decided to ask some of our wheelchair-using members to share what they do to maintain good spinal health and improve overall wellbeing this #SHW2023.

See what they said below!

JUSTIN HUA: CITIZEN SCIENTIST, THE HOPKINS CENTRE & HABITEC

My name is Justin, and I am a Citizen Science Ambassador of The Hopkins Centre and Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability, at Griffith University.

I was involved in a car accident in 2014, which left me with a C3 complete spinal cord injury. I am paralysed from below my shoulders and spend quite a lot of time using my computer with a Quadstick in my bed, as well as an hour every day with our two dogs Rex and Tofu. When I go out into the community, I have a carer, friend or parent with me, and use my manual wheelchair.

Whilst I have a spinal injury, maintaining spinal health is still very important for overall wellbeing. To manage the common stiffness, tension and pain in my neck and shoulders, I receive fortnightly physiotherapy­ sessions – during which my physiotherapist helps me with deep tissue massage, spinal joint and rib cage mobilisation, as well as deep breathing exercises.

The deep tissue massage, in my opinion, is very effective at managing the stiffness, tension and pain in my shoulders and neck. The stiffness and pain occur frequently, but comes on gradually, and I usually don’t realise until it gets quite bad, resulting in headaches and low mood. My neck and shoulders become sore and stiff, as I rely heavily on these muscles for using the quad stick adaptive computer controller, breathing, as well as maintaining balance when travelling. Cold weather can also add to this issue – as I am involuntarily tensing up or shivering.

Spinal joint mobilisation also helps with neck stiffness and any pain from a pinched nerve. Additionally, sideways neck stretches and using a massage gun can be quite effective.

Rib cage mobilisation and deep breathing exercises help with maintaining and improving lung capacity and function, which can stiffen over time, making breathing difficult, reducing stamina when in the wheelchair and reducing sleep quality.

Other passive exercises and stretches are performed by my carers, who help to maintain mobility and flexibility in joints, including my shoulders, hips, ankles and fingers. These passive exercises help to make transferring and dressing easier, as well as preventing skin damage or pressure injuries, due to bad positioning caused by stiff tendons and joints. I have also found over time, that my fingers and thumbs tend to curl up, causing them to dig into whatever they are resting on, which also places extra pressure on the fingertips.

Additionally, pressure injury prevention is very important, as they can occur very easily, and take weeks or months to heal, leaving painful scar tissue, which can sometimes lead to infection, if not cared for correctly. Advice received from staff at the Princess Alexandra Spinal Unit is very useful; including not to wear excessively tight or loose clothing, to be careful of seams, and to use pressure relieving gel pads on arm and footrests etc.

Some other issues I manage are pressure sores and acne. These can be a problem, as I spend a lot of time sitting up in bed to use the computer, and the QuadStick rubs on my chin. I have found using an electric bed from Liberty Healthcare, combined with a Talley Quattro alternating air mattress, as well as Heelift convoluted suspension boots to be very effective for preventing pressure sores. I have tried using sheepskin boots in the past, but it was not enough, and a pressure sore formed on my heel in the span of about six hours between lunch and dinner.

When going for car rides for more than two hours sitting in the passenger seat, I use a gel travel cushion, as I am a very slight build. For longer trips, such as on an aircraft or longer car journeys, a Roho cushion works a lot better. Be sure to deflate the Roho air cushions a bit before using them on a plane, as the cabin pressure can cause overinflation and leakage.

To manage acne, I have found using an exfoliating scrub on the skin around the neck and shoulder area, as well as wearing cotton shirts that allow the fabric to breathe, and get washed daily, has helped quite a lot. For the more problematic blemishes, creams with benzoyl peroxide like Benzac or Epiduo (which is also a retinoid cream) are good, but be mindful, as they can bleach clothes and bedding. Flipping the bed sheet one day, and washing it the day after, as further reduced skin concerns.

Lastly, I have found lack of water and sleep, as well as positioning and posture when using the power wheelchair and the Quadstick computer controller can contribute to headaches.

If I have not had enough water to drink on a day out, or I am lacking sleep due to various spinal cord injury related issues, it seems as though headaches and muscle pain are much more noticeable.

Also, if my body is not positioned correctly in my chair or bed, I will end up straining my neck and shoulder muscles to stay balanced or to reach the joystick or controller. The sustained straining of those muscles slowly lead to cause headaches until the tension can be relieved.

Headaches can also be caused by eyestrain from the screen being too bright, not enough light in the room, uneven light in the room (such as an open window only on one side) or not sitting up enough so that the eyes are straining to look down at the screen.

I hope some of these spinal health tips have been helpful for others – and would love to hear other suggestions in the comments below. Cheers!