Spinal Cord Injury (cont.)
What are the causes of spinal cord injury?
The most common cause of spinal cord injury is trauma. Nearly half of the
injuries are caused by motor vehicle accidents. Other types of trauma include:
- falls from heights,
- violence (stabbing or gunshot wounds to the spine), and
- sporting injuries (diving,
football, rugby, equestrian, etc.).
Spinal cord injury can also be caused by compression of the cord by a tumor,
infection, or inflammation. Some patients have a smaller than normal spinal
canal (called spinal stenosis) and are at a higher risk of injury to the spinal
cord.
All tissues in your body including the spinal cord require a good blood
supply to deliver oxygen and other nutrients. Failure of this blood supply to
the spinal cord can cause spinal cord injury. This can be caused by an
aneurysm
(ballooning of a blood vessel), compression of a blood vessel or a
prolonged
drop in blood pressure.
What are the symptoms of spinal cord injury?
The symptoms of spinal cord injury depend on where the spinal cord is injured
and whether or not the injury is complete or incomplete. In incomplete injuries,
patients have some remaining function of their bodies below the level of injury,
while in complete injuries they have no function below the level of injury.
Injuries to the spinal cord can cause
weakness or complete loss of muscle
function and loss of sensation in the body below the level of injury, loss of
control of the bowels and bladder, and loss of normal sexual function. Spinal
cord injuries in the upper neck can cause difficulty breathing and may require
the use of a breathing machine, or ventilator.
Next: How is a spinal cord injury diagnosed? »
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