Spinal Cord Injuries 🩺

Olivia Dahan
Dec 5, 2020
3 min read

In this week's post we will talk about spinal injuries.

What Are Spinal Injuries?

A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function, such as mobility and/or feeling. Frequent causes of spinal cord injuries are trauma or diseases. The spinal cord does not have to be severed for a loss of function to occur.

Facts About The Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is the major bundle of nerves that carries nerve impulses to and from the brain to the rest of the body.
The brain and the spinal cord constitute the central nervous system.
Motor and sensory nerves outside the central nervous system constitute the peripheral nervous system.
The spinal cord is about 18 inches long and extends from the base of the brain

The 4 Types of SCI

1. Cervical : The seven vertebra in the neck are called the cervical vertebra. The top vertebra is called C-1, the next is C-2, etc... These kind of injuries usually cause loss of function in the arms and legs, resulting in quadriplegia.

2.Thoracic :The 12 vertebra in the chest are called the thoracic vertebra. The first thoracic vertebra, T-1, is the vertebra where the top rib attaches. Injuries in the thoracic region usually affect the chest and the legs, resulting in paraplegia.

3.Lumbar : The vertebra in the lower back between the thoracic vertebra, where the ribs attach, and the pelvis (hip bone) are the lumbar vertebra. There exists 5 lumbar vertebra (L-1 thru L-5). Generally result in some loss of function in the hips and legs.

4.Sacral : Injuries to the five sacral vertebra (S-1 thru S-5) generally result in some loss of function in the hips and legs.

Common Causes of Spinal Injuries

Trauma

-Vehicle accidents

-Acts of violence such as gunshot wounds

-Falls

Diseases

-cancer

-osteoporosis

-spinal tumors

-arthritis

-blood loss

Some Symptoms Include:

Loss of movement

Loss or altered sensation, including the ability to feel heat, cold and touch

Loss of bowel or bladder control
Exaggerated reflex activities or spasms
Changes in sexual function, sexual sensitivity and fertility
Pain or an intense stinging sensation caused by damage to the nerve fibers in your spinal cord
Difficulty breathing, coughing or clearing secretions from your lungs
Numbness, tingling or loss of sensation in your hands, fingers, feet or toes
Loss of bladder or bowel control
Difficulty with balance and walking
Impaired breathing after injury

Complete vs Incomplete Spinal Injury

A Complete Spinal Cord Injury means that there is no function below the level of the injury. No sensation and no voluntary movement.

An Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury means that there is some function below the primary level of injury.

Preventions

Drive safely
Prevent falls
Take precautions when playing sports
Don't drink and drive

Risk factors

Being male.
Being between the ages of 16 and 30.
Being older than 65.
Engaging in risky behaviour.
Having a bone or joint disorder.

Diagnosis

In the emergency room, a doctor may be able to rule out a spinal cord injury by careful inspection and examination. He will make emergency diagnosis tests which include:

X-rays
Computerized tomography (CT) scan
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Treatments

Unfortunately, there's no way to reverse damage to the spinal cord. Some acute stages of treatment include:

Maintaining your ability to breathe
Preventing shock
Immobilizing your neck to prevent further spinal cord damage
Avoiding possible complications, such as stool or urine retention, respiratory or cardiovascular difficulty, and formation of deep vein blood clots in the extremities

For a visual representation of the anatomy of the spinal cord please watch this video: