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Spinal Injury Can Result In Irreparable Damage
The term spinal injury can be used to describe any injury to the spine, not necessarily resulting in injury to the spinal cord. For example, whiplash to the neck may cause temporary spinal injury. However, when the spinal cord is affected, these injuries are quite serious and the damage may be irreparable.
Injuries to the spine can happen different ways. They can be from tumors, diseases or from developmental problems. Often, the injury is traumatic, resulting from work-related or automobile accidents. The trauma may be only to the vertebrae initially, which is why it is critical not to move a person with neck or back injuries. This movement itself can cause injury to the spinal cord.
Nerve signals between the brain and the rest of the body travel through spinal cord. The effects of a spinal cord injury will be dependent upon where in the spinal column the injury has occurred. These types of injuries can be divided into those that are complete injuries and those that are incomplete.
Those injuries which are complete sustain loss of motor and sensory functions below the level of injury. Victims of this type of injury rarely recover ability to move themselves.
With spinal injuries that are incomplete, there is some motor and sensory function below the injury level. These people generally recover some mobility but may not recover completely.
Mobility is only one of the bodily functions affected by these types of injuries. There are nerves that send signals from the different levels of the spine to the organs in the body so that they can function properly. An injury to the spine therefore affects functions below that level.
Spinal injury at the cervical level may affect breathing, for example, sometimes to the extent of respiratory aid being necessary. Other level injuries may affect function of the any of the other organs such as the urinary bladder, bowels, gall bladder and kidneys. Erectile dysfunction is a common result, as are incontinence and infections.
Other results of this type of injury include pain, spasticity of reflexes and atrophy of muscle. As already discussed, one of the primary effects is on locomotion and other motor function. Spinal injuries may result in paraplegia or quadriplegia.
At the initial time of the injury, there will be inflammation present. Once the inflammation is reduced, a more accurate diagnosis and prognosis and be determined. Those patients with spinal injuries which are incomplete may regain partial mobility but, even with these, complete mobility is rare.
It is critical to be thoroughly examined by a doctor after being in an automobile or other type of accident to be sure that there are not more serious injuries than realized. For example, any injury to the bones of the spine can result in spinal injury of the cord if left untreated.
About the Author Matthew Kerridge is an expert in spinal injury claims. If you would like further information about spinal injury or are searching for a reputable spinal injury law firm please visit http://personalinjury.ffw.com
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