Bowel Care and Cardiovascular Function After Spinal Cord Injury

The main goal of this project is to determine the effects of lidocaine lubricant on cardiovascular function during routine bowel care in individuals with spinal cord injury. Bowel care is a common trigger of blood pressure and heart rate changes after spinal cord injury. In this project, we will be measuring blood pressure and heart rate non-invasively during normal bowel routine (which can be performed in the subject's home or at one of the investigators facilities). The measurements will occur twice over a period of 28 days: once using lidocaine lubricant and once using normal (placebo) lubricant. The recording equipment will be attached and subjects will have complete privacy during their bowel routine. The trial will be double-blind, meaning that neither the subject or the Nurse Continence Advisor who assists with testing will know which lubricant is being used for each test. The use of a lubricant gel containing an anesthetic is the standard of care in many hospital facilities when performing bowel care for individuals with spinal cord injury; however, it is not often used in the home setting. It is thought that using anaesthetic might reduce the cardiovascular effects of bowel care after spinal cord injury. However, it is not known whether this is the case. The investigators hypothesize that the lidocaine lubricant will alleviate some of the blood pressure and heart rate changes that occur during bowel care.