Getting Your Brain and Body Back: Everything You Need to Know after Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke, or Traumatic Brain Injury

by Bradford C. Berk, Martha W. Murphy (Contribution by), Eric Topol (Foreword by)

Overview

Make the fullest possible recovery after neurological injury with this definitive guide—by a doctor and spinal cord injury survivor who’s been there

After an accident that left him permanently paralyzed over ten years ago, Dr. Bradford Berk made it his mission to help others recover from acute neurological injury (ANI). As the founder and director of the University of Rochester Neurorestoration Institute, he brings his abundant experience in working with patients and making his own ongoing recovery to Getting Your Brain and Body Back, the most up-to-date guide for survivors of spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke, and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Each of these acute neurological injuries can result in similar physical and psychological challenges and require similar treatments, medications, and assistive devices. Getting Your Brain and Body Back offers comprehensive, reassuring guidance for your every concern:

• How to deal with grief and trauma in the aftermath of accident or injury—and build resilience as you find your way forward
• What adaptive devices—for bathing, dining, mobility, and more—will help you enjoy life to the utmost
• How to prevent and treat secondary health problems of every kind, such as heart, skin, and bladder troubles—sexual health included!
• Therapeutic approaches from both Western and Eastern medicine to consider for maximum healing and pain relief

Dr. Berk’s candid advice on medical treatment and daily living—plus insights from the brightest minds in the field—will help get you or your loved one back to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615196951
Publisher:	The Experiment
Publication date:	07/13/2021
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	1,032,332
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Bradford C. Berk, MD, PhD, is a distinguished university professor at the University of Rochester. He was recruited to University of Rochester Medical Center in 1998 as chief of cardiology and later served as chairman of medicine and CEO. Dr. Berk stepped down in 2015 to found the University of Rochester Neurorestoration Institute, which provides the highest quality multidisciplinary care to individuals who have suffered neurologic damage. He has published more than 300 articles, chapters, and books.
 
Martha Watson Murphy is an award-winning author who has written, co-written, edited, or developed more than thirty books. Her areas of interest include health; food and the people who bring it to us; life in out-of-the-way places; how-to; memoir; business; and our relationship with dogs.
 
Eric Topol, MD, is the director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and co-founder and vice-chairman of the West Wireless Health Institute in La Jolla, California. He is a practicing cardiologist at the Scripps Clinic and a professor of genomics at The Scripps Research Institute. One of the top ten most cited researchers in medicine, Topol was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and has led many of the trials that have shaped contemporary treatment for heart disease. He lives in La Jolla, California.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Eric Topol, MD 1

Preface: Why I Know You Can Get Back to Life 5

Introduction: What Is an Acute Neurological Injury? 11

1 Your Recovery Begins in Your Head

1 Battling the Blues 21

How to Deal with Your Grief, Depression, and Anxiety So You Can Focus on Recovery

2 The Amazing Connection Between Your Mind and Body 39

How to Harness the Power of Your Mind with Neuroplasticity for Optimal Recovery

3 Before You Leave the Hospital 51

The Five Essentials of Smart Discharge Planning

2 Functional Recovery, Health, and Wellness

4 Pain Management 67

Controlling Pain Helps Speed Your Rehabilitation

5 Rehabilitation: Slow and Steady Wins the Race 85

Five Steps to Getting the Most from Rehabilitation and Restoration Therapies

6 Your Lifestyle = Your State of Wellness 94

How to Strengthen Good Habits and Lose the Ones that Zap Your Health

7 Sexual Healing 102

How to Address Your Sexuality, Sexual Function, and Fertility

8 East Meets West 117

How to Use Modern Western Medicine and Traditional Eastern Medicine to Heal and Enjoy a Better Quality of Life

3 Preventing and Treating the Most Common Medical Problems

9 Urinary Tract and Bladder Health 131

10 Digestive Tract Health 144

11 Heart Health 155

12 Lung Health 166

13 Skin Health: Preventing Pressure Ulcers 173

14 Muscle, Bone, and joint Health 181

4 Enjoy a Rewarding and Meaningful Life

15 Miraculous Adaptations 197

How to Take Advantage of Life-Enhancing Devices, Tools, and More

16 Get Out! 219

Making Your Home, Vehicles, and Workplace Accessible for a Wheelchair

17 When the World Beckons 229

The Good, Bad, and Worst of Traveling in a Wheelchair

18 You Are Not Invisible 241

How to Thrive in Your Community

19 Future Therapies 249

Science and Technology Bring the Future to the Now

Epilogue: The Power of Hope and Love 268

Acknowledgments 275

Resources 281

Notes 287

Image Credits 296

Index 297

About the Authors 311

Editorial Reviews

"In his engaging and informative book, Dr. Berk puts the focus on patients and families, giving them the tools they need for successful rehabilitation."

Steven Kirshblum

"In this important book, drawing both from his personal experience and the latest research, Dr. Berk shows us how to use the mind to restore the body. After thirty-six years of living with a spinal cord injury, finally words of wisdom that can be put into practice."

Rob Tortorella

"Dr. Berk is living proof that focused and purposeful mental effort can result in remarkable function, life satisfaction and contribution to the world. His book provides expert and inspiring guidance for the many people who seek to overcome catastrophic injuries and get back to life."

Robert Califf

"Berk brings his unique blend of personal and professional experience to this all-encompassing neurological recovery guide."

New Mobility

"Riveting and compelling. At last, a book of hope for those who have been offered little in the past. Dr Berk’s inspiring personal story combined with his empowering and evidence-based advice make this a must-read for those who have suffered catastrophic neurological injury."

Gary Gibbons

Berk brings his unique blend of personal and professional experience to this all-encompassing neurological recovery guide.”—New Mobility 

“Riveting and compelling. At last, a book of hope for those who have been offered little in the past. Dr Berk’s inspiring personal story combined with his empowering and evidence-based advice make this a must-read for those who have suffered catastrophic neurological injury.”—Gary Gibbons, M.D., PhD, Director, NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
 
“Dr. Berk is living proof that focused and purposeful mental effort can result in remarkable function, life satisfaction and contribution to the world. His book provides expert and inspiring guidance for the many people who seek to overcome catastrophic injuries and get back to life.”—Robert Califf, M.D., Former Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
 
“In his engaging and informative book, Dr. Berk puts the focus on patients and families, giving them the tools they need for successful rehabilitation.”—Steven Kirshblum, M.D., Senior Medical Officer at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation; Chief Medical Officer at Kessler Foundation; Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
 
“In this important book, drawing both from his personal experience and the latest research, Dr. Berk shows us how to use the mind to restore the body. After thirty-six years of living with a spinal cord injury, finally words of wisdom that can be put into practice.”—Rob Tortorella, B.A., (C6-7 paraplegic), Executive Chairman, Corrosion Products Equipment, Inc.
 

From the Publisher