Fifty years ago, people with spinal cord injuries lived only about two years. These days, they can expect close to an average life expectancy. The spinal cord injured are now viewed as physically disabled but healthy people with a productive future in society. This issue of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation includes important chapters for healthcare providers to help patients obtain this level of productivity, with chapters on strategies for recovery, technology, wheelchairs and assistive devices, chronic pain and depression and even health and fitness.