CNS Repair in a girl with a Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

By medical malpractice, the 5.5-years-old Nefeli suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury at Th10/11 levels. At an age of 9, through 4 years of Coordination Dynamics Therapy, she re-learned walking, running, jumping and became continent again. At an age of 14, an orthopedic surgeon made the family believe that the walking performance could substantially be improved by a leg operation. Against the strong advice of the Author ‘to avoid the operation’, because such operations in spinal cord injury reduce the plasticity, necessary for repair, the parents decided for the operation. Till 6 weeks after the operation, the patient could not move the legs anymore because of extreme flexor spasticity, rigor and cramps. 3.5 months after the operation, including 8 weeks of intensive Coordination Dynamics Therapy with the Author, she could move the legs a bit again, but could not walk freely.6 months after the operation, she became able to walk a bit with orthoses and after 8 months she re-learned to walk a bit without orthoses. Through the operation, the patient lost approximately 2 years of movement-based learning therapy. It will be analyzed in detail that the orthopedic surgeon operated without sufficient knowledge in human repair-neurophysiology, necessary especially in spinal cord injury. The operationinduced extreme flexor spasticity made the standing and upright movements impossible. Only the Author was able, through administering Coordination Dynamics Therapy, to slowly reduce the extreme flexor spasticity and to make the spinal cord injury patient Nefeli walk again.