Hello Jolien

I do not know what kind of info you need exactly but there is a really good website that have info about SCI. Maybe more practical than theoretical but you can check that if you do not already know this website :) 

http://www.pva.org/site/apps/ka/ec/catalog.asp?c=ajIRK9NJLcJ2E&b=6423003&en=8rJFIRMvH7IOK1PyF6JLKXOILlKQIXOALfJRJ8NQJvF&CategoryID=322146

there are electronic publications that you can download free. There is one about upper limb

best

anna

There are several activities and different treatment interventions you can use, it depends on your initial goals and what are the expectations for your client (patient). As a rehabilitation professional you may want to start with short term goals, these are important to engage you and your client. However it is important to emphasize that a long term goal may be something that will become more functional and improve the quality of life of this individuals. It is important to get these info from a proper book. A book will give a broad idea of your goals and what are the best intervention for your client, based on what he/she is capable of doing. (Remember Area of lesion and muscle function must be very sharp in your mind - it will help your to decide what activities you can re-introduce). When you say upper limb, you have to think whether his upper limb has some movement. Is there some elbow and wrist movement? is he/she able to make a fist? If yes, measure his/her strength with a handgrip dynamometer. http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/handgrip.htm

 All those things must be assessed first, once you have an idea of what he/she is capable of doing, then you can think about activities to enhance his abilities. Please, be careful as some activities could not be appropriate and may generate frustration. Scientific articles are great, when you start searching for specific concepts and activities. Mary Ann McCall is an Occupational Therapist with vast scientific publication in Spinal Cord. You can get a lot info, from her publications, even the old ones.  

Good Luck with your search,

Kamary

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003999310000869

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/h09-050#.VxZDXbl0x9A

Another interesting paper

https://www.scireproject.com/sites/default/files/upper_limb.pdf

Hello Jolien,   When considering SCI, neuro-plasticity is a most useful long-term teaching for both therapist and client. Recent books by N. Doidge are, I find, a good starting point. In this approach, you are teaching your client about the necessary rebuilding of CNS + spinal pathways that motivate the upper limb. This is good science - however it requires a knowledgable therapist and a client who becomes dedicated to a very lengthy self-training discipline.        Good work,      Psychologist Paul McGaffey

I have had my best results using "Demand" therapy through PNF patterns.

The limb is moved manually through the patterns is such a manner as to help elicit a contraction. This takes a high degree of skill and practice.  It helped that I was taught by a woman who worked with Knott and Voss.

I remember two young men with flail right arms following a severe stretch of the brachial nerve.  Each was scheduled for surgical amputation.  It took a few months of hard work but each recovered about 95%.  A third such injury was found to have avulsed roots and did have amputation.  I found PNF patterns essential in essentially all of my patients requiring exercise.

A 60 YOM with a high SCI and two flail legs was sent to me from a rehab center and I obtained enough function using demand PNF so he could ambulate with two short-leg braces.   You can elicit hip flexion by hyper flexion of the hallux.

Robot-assisted therapy is versatile for active and passive practice by patients with neurological disorders.

Functional electrical stimulation can be used for neuromuscular stimulation to prime weak muscle groups. This can be used concurrently with robot-assisted therapy or motor relearning program.