ABSTRACT
The chapter will draw on data from an empirical study of twenty-four people with varying degrees of bodily paralysis resulting from a range of serious conditions, material which is developed more fully in a recently released publication (Seymour 1998). Most of the informants have sustained damage to their spinal cord. The loss of muscle power associated with these conditions is usually obvious but few people realise that deep and superficial sensation, vasomotor control, bladder and bowel control and sexual function may also be lost. Since spinal cord damage is permanent, rehabilitation is directed towards utilising the remaining intact functions and developing strategies for maintaining essential bodily functions. Care of the bladder and the bowel must become obsessional, since neglect of these vital parts of the body can have extremely serious clinical consequences (Jones & Davidson 1988, p. 109). While the loss of bowel and bladder control associated with these conditions provides dramatic examples of faecal and urinary incontinence, the broader issue of bodily continence involves a range of fluids and substances which engage with the body in a variety of ways.
