Nutrition & Diet for Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury can be a very serious condition that requires around-the-clock care for the patient. As a nurse, it's your job not only to make sure the patient is receiving any treatments, medications, or tests the doctor orders; it's also your job to see that the patient is comfortable, that he is taken care of mentally and emotionally as well. The complexity of a spinal cord injury requires you to pay close attention to every detail the patient tells you about or that you observe, so that you can report any problems or complications to the doctor in charge.

Q: What’s the connection between diet and spinal cord injury?

A: You’re susceptible to secondary health complications, like bladder infections, lower immune system, bowel dysfunction, respiratory infection, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis. These can be prevented through a healthy lifestyle, which includes good nutrition. If you have these conditions already, it can help manage them.

Q: Does it pertain to spinal cord injury only?

A: The recommendations in the book are specific for spinal injury, but there is a great crossover to anybody with any kind of neurological condition, whether it be Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, acquired brain injury.

Q: What’s the incentive?

A: If you can maintain your health and prevent a lot of these secondary complications from developing, it's saving yourself and the health-care system money down the road. We are also dealing with greater susceptibility toward weight gain, lower energy, sleep difficulty, so just trying to enhance your day-to-day function can make a significant difference.


The patient's environment needs to be suited to his needs at this point in time. Keep the room at a comfortable temperature, and make sure the patient has plenty of blankets. If the patient has urine or bowel incontinence, make sure that he stays clean and dry, as much as possible. You may need to administer pain medications, as needed, also as ordered by the physician. Also, make sure that the patient is getting enough rest by giving him as much privacy as he needs. If the patient can't rest, certain things can be done to aid him in this, such as visual imagery, where you help the patient to close his eyes and imagine a place he'd rather be at this time. For example, he might want to be on a beach, hearing and feeling the waves come lapping in, and the warmth of the sun beating down on him. Just being able to sit back and see all of this in his head and imagine this can help him to relax much more.