What role does diet and hydration play in preventing pressure sores among people with spinal cord injuries? - Mary Zeigler, MS

Huge, nutrition is so important for any well being.  If a patient has a pressure sore, the way that pressure sore heals is that new tissue has to be manufactured by the body.  The major component of new tissue, or any tissue, is protein.  They can’t rely on the protein level in their body and just leave it at that.  They have to continually give their body the proper nutritional protein.  And, just as an example, a spinal-cord injured patient with a pressure sore requires three times the amount of protein that the average healthy person needs to sustain life.  Hydration is very important because when you become dehydrated, you have all kinds of problems; you have fluid and electrolyte imbalances, so many, many issues.  You also need to stay warm, warmth is important for circulation.  It provides us with so there’s more blood supply, as opposed to vasoconstriction.