Spinal Cord Injury: Treatments and Rehabilitation (cont.)
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?
Although the hard bones of the spinal column protect the soft tissues of the
spinal cord, vertebrae can still be broken or dislocated in a variety of ways
and cause traumatic injury to the spinal cord. Injuries can occur at any level
of the spinal cord. The segment of the cord that is injured, and the severity of
the injury, will determine which body functions are compromised or lost. Because
the spinal cord acts as the main information pathway between the brain and the
rest of the body, a spinal cord injury can have significant physiological
consequences.
Catastrophic falls, being thrown from a horse or through a windshield, or any
kind of physical trauma that crushes and compresses the vertebrae in the neck
can cause irreversible damage at the cervical level of the spinal cord and
below. Paralysis of most of the body including the arms and legs, called
quadriplegia, is the likely result. Automobile accidents are often responsible
for spinal cord damage in the middle back (the thoracic or lumbar area), which
can cause paralysis of the lower trunk and lower extremities, called paraplegia.
Other kinds of injuries that directly penetrate the spinal cord, such as
gunshot or knife wounds, can either completely or partially sever the spinal
cord and create life-long disabilities.
Most injuries to the spinal cord don't completely sever it. Instead, an
injury is more likely to cause fractures and compression of the vertebrae, which
then crush and destroy the axons, extensions of nerve cells that carry signals
up and down the spinal cord between the brain and the rest of the body. An
injury to the spinal cord can damage a few, many, or almost all of these axons.
Some injuries will allow almost complete recovery. Others will result in
complete paralysis.
Until World War II, a serious spinal cord injury usually meant certain death,
or at best a lifetime confined to a wheelchair and an ongoing struggle to
survive secondary complications such as breathing problems or blood clots. But
today, improved emergency care for people with spinal cord injuries and
aggressive treatment and rehabilitation can minimize damage to the nervous
system and even restore limited abilities.
Advances in research are giving doctors and patients hope that all spinal
cord injuries will eventually be repairable. With new surgical techniques and
exciting developments in spinal nerve regeneration, the future for spinal cord
injury survivors looks brighter every day.
This information has been written to explain what happens to the spinal cord
when it is injured, the current treatments for spinal cord injury patients, and
the most promising avenues of research currently under investigation.
Facts and Figures About Spinal Cord Injury
- There are an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 spinal cord injuries every year in
the United States.
- A quarter of a million Americans are currently living with spinal cord
injuries.
- The cost of managing the care of spinal cord injury patients approaches $4
billion each year.
- 38.5 percent of all spinal cord injuries happen during car accidents. Almost
a quarter, 24.5 percent, are the result of injuries relating to violent
encounters, often involving guns and knifes. The rest are due to sporting
accidents, falls, and work-related accidents.
- 55 percent of spinal cord injury victims are between 16 and 30 years old.
- More than 80 percent of spinal cord injury patients are men
Source: Facts and Figures at a Glance, May 2001. National Spinal Cord Injury
Statistical Center.
Next: How Does the Spinal Cord Work? »
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