ISCoS launches textbook on spinal injury management

The book aims to present the global scenario by including perspectives on spinal injury management as a team approach from multiple countries and regions

International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) has compiled a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary resource book on spinal injury management.

The ISCoS Textbook on Comprehensive Management of Spinal Cord Injuries is aimed at fulfilling the need for a comprehensive resource addressing management of spinal cord injury (SCI) as a team-based approach. Dr Harvinder Singh Chhabra, Medical Director & Chief of Spine Service, has helmed the effort as the Editor-in-Chief of the compilation of carefully selected works of 184 contributing authors from as many as 25 different countries.

To ensure that the book represents a global scenario, and not just the prevalent expert discourse in the developed world, a separate chapter on ‘Challenges of Management in Less and Least Developed Countries’ has been added to highlight the difficulties of the less resourced and the solutions to overcome them.

“When it comes to making lives better for people with spinal cord injuries there is a substantial gap between ‘the possible’ and the ‘actually available’. A wide variety of different injury management approaches are practiced in different parts of the world, which may not be adequately shared with healthcare professionals elsewhere. At the same time, a large amount of information and expertise remains unavailable to healthcare professionals in some regions. The textbook aims to compile the latest best practices and approaches being followed by doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, orthotists, assistive technologists, and counsellors across the world with an objective of making a comprehensive guide available to people everywhere,” says Dr Chhabra.

The textbook is a comprehensive guide containing information for all disciplines involved in SCI management including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, orthotists, assistive technologists, vocational counselors, psychologists, social workers, and peer counsellors, with additional information for doctors. The textbook has various new topics which are not covered in the currently available textbooks including assistive technology, pre-discharge planning, nutritional management, outcome measures, challenges of management in less and least developed countries, neglected spinal cord injuries, translational research, issues specific to women, empowerment, legislation and rights of persons with disability, vocational rehabilitation, SCI in complex emergency situations, geriatric spinal cord injuries, active rehabilitation, concomitant diagnosis: traumatic spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, associated injuries, and poly-trauma.

The entire work for coordination and administrative support of the project took place from Indian Spinal Injuries Centre. Wolters Kluwer India was chosen as the publishers of the textbook.