SDR Changed my Life.

Now I’ve made it my mission to help others change theirs.

Blog posts

james and ms. brenda of the chase park plaza hotel

james and ms. brenda of the chase park plaza hotel

When my mom and I were packing for my spinal cord surgery in St. Louis, I remember asking her what she was nervous about. One of her worries, she said, was that we were flying a thousand miles across the country to a state where we had never been—to a state where we...

celebrating world CP day

celebrating world CP day

Today, October 6th, is World Cerebral Palsy Day. Did you know that if you put all 17 million of us together, we'd make up almost the entire population of the Netherlands? Imagine ... what would it be like if we all just started our own country together? (We'd allow...

enough

enough

I remember coming home from second grade and staring at my crooked legs in the mirror. I had watched my classmates on the playground that day. I stood back, quiet and still amidst their shouts and laughter, part envy and part curiosity as they effortlessly ran and...

a tribute to Dr. TS PARK

a tribute to Dr. TS PARK

I was a thousand miles from home, in St. Louis, Missouri. As my mom and I entered our hotel's lobby, a young man in a staff uniform rushed forward to hold the door. His eyes lingered on the stiffness in my legs as I passed through. "Are you here in St. Louis to see...

A young woman who had SDR. Her back is to the camera, and she has a scar on her lower back from SDR.

What is SDR?

  • SDR stands for selective dorsal rhizotomy.

  • It’s a spinal cord surgery for people who have spasticity. Spasticity is muscle tightness resulting from mixed-up messages between the brain and spinal nerves. 

  • During SDR, the surgeon divides the spinal cord’s sensory nerves into their smaller branches, called rootlets. Then the surgeon cuts the rootlets that are most overactive, getting rid of spasticity from the waist down.

  • Currently, SDR is the only treatment that can eliminate or permanently reduce spasticity.

Who can SDR help?

  • Most SDR candidates have either spastic cerebral palsy or hereditary spastic paraplegia.

  • Generally, the sooner SDR is done, the better. But adults can benefit too; I had SDR at age 23.

Why is SDR important?

  • SDR can reduce pain and discomfort and improve motor skills. I am so much more comfortable without spasticity, and I can move more freely than ever before! I fall less too.

  • Spasticity does progressive damage to bones, muscles, and joints. SDR can help prevent that, and it may reduce the need for additional surgeries.

  • SDR can allow muscles to be strengthened more effectively. Without spasticity, it is much easier for me to activate and isolate my muscles.