Claes Hultling (born March 24, 1953) is a Swedish physician, researcher, professor, and internationally recognized pioneer in spinal cord injury care and rehabilitation. He is also a former Paralympic sailor and wheelchair curler.
Biography
Hultling grew up on Lidingö outside Stockholm and later in Västerås, Sweden. He studied medicine and became an anesthesiologist. On May 31, 1984, three weeks before his own wedding, he dove into shallow water, broke his neck, and became paralyzed from the chest down. Following his injury, he shifted his medical focus to rehabilitation medicine for individuals with spinal cord injuries.
He is the brother of Swedish sports journalist Katarina Hultling. He has a son who was the first child in the world born to a father with a spinal cord injury through in vitro fertilization.
Career and Spinalis Foundation
Together with neurologist Richard Levi, Hultling founded the Stiftelsen Spinalis (Spinalis Foundation), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with spinal cord injuries. He serves as its CEO and also founded the Spinalis Clinic, a specialist clinic for spinal cord injury patients at Rehab Station Stockholm, where he works as a practicing physician.
Hultling is a docent (associate professor) and affiliated researcher at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society. He was a visiting professor at the neurosurgery clinic at Stanford University in the United States (2009–2010). In 2018, he was appointed adjunct professor at Sophiahemmet University College.
Research and Publications
Hultling's research has focused on spinal cord injury rehabilitation, fertility and assisted reproduction for men with spinal cord injuries, neurogenic bowel management, and quality of life after spinal cord injury. He has published extensively, with over 3,300 citations according to ResearchGate. His doctoral thesis (1998) was titled "Assisted reproduction technology in men with ejaculatory dysfunction with special reference to spinal cord injury."
He has been involved in international projects, including the Botswana Project, aimed at developing a national rehabilitation clinic for spinal cord injury patients in Botswana, in collaboration with Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and Botswana's Ministry of Health.
Paralympic Career
Hultling competed in the 2.4 Metre class sailing event at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, finishing 12th. He also participated in the 2002 World Wheelchair Curling Championship as an alternate for the Swedish team, which placed 4th.
Awards and Honors
- RFSU Prize (2002) – For his fearless and persistent work to increase openness around sexuality and disability.
- H.M. The King's Medal (8th size with Seraphim Order ribbon, 2005) – For groundbreaking contributions to the development of care for people with disabilities, especially spinal cord injuries.
- Entrepreneur of the Year in Solna (2005) – Awarded by Företagarna, the Chamber of Commerce, and Solna municipality.
- Anders Carlberg Memorial Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2023) – For his lifelong work improving conditions for people in wheelchairs.
Bibliography
- Spinalis Handbook – A new front for injured backs
- Ett samtal om ryggmärgsskador (A Conversation About Spinal Cord Injuries)
- Kokbok för lama (Cookbook for the Lame)
