Jerry Haney, SCI Series, Functional Expectations

I sincerely hope the information presented will be useful and help you and yours cope with this devastating injury.

If you do not find a subject shown here, please let me know and I will certainly try to research the information and present it on this website in continuing updates.

This important section is devoted to the medical and medication information needed by the SCI, drugs and what they do, side effects, your prescription, autonomic dysreflexia, causes, symptoms, what to do, how to prevent this condition from occurring.

*Note: Many factors can and do influence whether or not a specific patient can achieve the activities outlined below. This table should be used ONLY as a general guide. However, the lower the level of injury, the greater percentage of patients should be able to achieve the predicted function.

Last Intact Segment	Key Muscles of Functional Strength	Function To Be Expected

C4	Diaphragm - Muscle below lungs that raises and lowers to pull and push air in and out of lungs	Independent breathing

C5	Deltoid - Shoulder cap muscle that raises the arm Biceps - Muscle over front of upper arm that flexes the arm at elbow	Feeding (may need ball bearing feeder or overhead sling) Operate electric wheelchair

C6	Wrist Extensors - Muscles along outer portion of forearm that raise the hand at the wrist	Independent feeding, writing, typing, drive automobile, use flexor hinge splint, propel manual wheelchair (with vertical projections), empty leg bag, dress upper half, assisted transfer

C7	Triceps - Muscle in back of upper arm that straightens the arm at the elbow	Independent transfer (including bed, car, toilet, and floor to chair), completely wheelchair independent (several adaptive devices may be needed)

C8, T1	Finger Extrinsics and Intrinsics - Muscle on inside and outside of fingers that move fingers apart or together	Normal upper extremities, wheelies (to go up and down curbs)

T1-12	Upper Intercostals - Muscles between ribs that assist with lung movement of air and chest expansion Back Extensors - Muscles in upper back that assist in leaning backward	Same as above, but few if any adaptive devices Essentially same as above

L4	Iliopsoas - Muscles at sides and front of the leg that raise and lower the leg at the hip Quadriceps - Muscle in front of thigh that straightens the leg at the knee	Can ambulate with long leg braces and crutches (if no hip or knee contracture) Same as above

S2	Perineal Muscles - Muscles that control bowel and bladder	Bowel and bladder function (may require assistive / adaptive device for bowel and bladder management