Neuro Note 3: Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies

WOW! That is the main word I can use to describe last night. Last night, I had the opportunity to attend a Memphis Rollin’ Grizzlies practice, and I am so inspired. The Memphis Rollin’ Grizzlies are a nationally ranked, wheelchair basketball team from Memphis, TN. This team is made up of all kinds of individuals, all with different stories.

It is always amazing to watch the body take on any type of athletic event, but I did not realize just how intense this game is. It looked like it took such strategic movements to block other players or even make turns on the court. It was also cool to see how the players blocked each other. It looked sort of like “bumper cars.” One thing that really amazed me was their endurance. They practiced non-stop for about 1 hour and 45 minutes with hardly any breaks. I can honestly say I was more involved and attentive to the practice than any other basketball game I have attended.

In class, we are learning about spinal cord injuries (SCI). We learned about the causes of injury, the level of injury, and whether or not they are complete or incomplete injuries. One particular individual we saw on the team was a basketball player in college, and the coach said he would have gone on to play for the NBA if he did not sustain an SCI.  Life is so short and so uncertain, but it was so cool how the person, environment, and task were adapted like we learn about in school. Also, we learned that with different levels of injury, there are different functions associated with each. It appeared that all of the individuals on the team had arm/hand function, and we learned that with a T1-T9 injury there was more trunk control. We also learned that people with this level of injury usually have wheelchair backs that are lower or below the shoulder for more thoracic movement. All of the wheelchairs used in the sport are lower backs in order for the players to have shoulder movement.

At the end of the practice, we had an opportunity to try out wheelchair basketball. Due to the fact that I am extremely uncoordinated, I decided to watch, but it put into perspective how difficult the sport actually is. I was impressed by some of my classmates, though, and think that some of them should even consider it as a hobby! 

To find out more about this amazing team, check out their website: http://www.rollingrizzlies.org/who-we-are

Memphis Rolling Grizzlies. (n.d). Who We Are. Retrieved from http://www.rollingrizzlies.org/news/