Spinal Cord Injuries First Aid Treatment: Explained in less than 5 mins

najrandilmohamud
Dec 9, 2020
3 min read

The anatomy and purpose of the spinal cord

The spinal cord is a crucial part of our anatomy. Without it, our brain and body would not be able to communicate and we would practically not be able to do anything. The main functions of the spinal cord are:

Carrying signals from the brain
Carrying information to the brain
Conducting motor reflexes

About spinal cord injuries

According to Spinal Cord Injury Canada, Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) are defined as:

"any sustained damage to the spinal cord, or the nerves at the end of the spinal canal [that] can permanently impact many physiological areas, such as sensations, strength, motor ability and any other functions".

Every injury is different. Some may experience a traumatic injury from a car accident or a fall while others experience a non-traumatic injury from a cancerous tutor or inflammation. Spinal can also either affect the whole body or only a few parts. We also often hear the terms paraplegia, hemiplegia and quadriplegia when talking about SCI. These define the affected areas of the body. Finally it exists 4 levels of spinal cord injury: Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar and Sacral.

Possible Causes Of Spinal Injury

Traumatic falls
Sport injuries (gymnastics, hitting the bottom of pool when diving)
Car or motorbike accident
Face or head injury
Dropping a heavy object on your back

How to identify SCI?

There is a high chance that someone is suffering from a spinal cord injury if they are experiencing these symptoms:

Neck or back pain (at the area of the injury)
Irregular shape of the spine
Bruising and tenderness at the spine
Weakness or absence of movement in the limbs
Loss of sensation
Loss of bowel control
Troubled breathing

What to do?

Depending on the victim’s consciousness, the treating procedure will be different.

Responsive

Begin by introducing yourself to the victim, getting their consent for treatment and reassure them.
Do NOT move them or ask then to move
Get someone to call 911 or do it yourself if you are alone
Steady and support the head so that their head, neck and spine are in a straight line
Kneel behind their head with your elbows on the floor to do so. You don’t want your arms getting tired while doing this.

If possible, ask someone to put rolled blankets or towels on either side of the head while you keep holding the casualty’s head. The head must stay in the neutral position
Monitor breathing and responsiveness.

Unresponsive

Begin by introducing yourself to the victim, getting their consent for treatment and reassure them. While you can’t hear them, they might be able to hear you
Do NOT move them or ask then to move
Get someone to call 911 or do it yourself if you are alone
Steady and support the head so that their head, neck and spine are in a straight line
Kneel behind their head with your elbows on the floor to do so. You don’t want your arms getting tired while doing this.
Open the airway with using the jaw-thrust technique. While still holding the head, put your fingertips at the angles of the jaw and gently lift to open the airway. DO NOT TILT THE NECK!

Check breathing by listening to the respiration or by observing the chest rise.
If breathing, monitor breathing and responsiveness.
If not breathing, start CPR to preserve life. Try to get access to an AED.

Watch this video for an in depth tutorial on treating SCI by a certified and experienced first aider: https://youtu.be/Uqy2IUhYkVA

Finally let’s address one last thing; Can someone recover from a spinal cord injury?

There is no definite answer. Most of the time, the casualties will not recover. However, it can rarely happen that some people get lucky and only have temporary damage to their spine. As for those who have permanent damage to the spine, all hope is not lost! Scientist all over the world are working on ways to potentially treat Spinal Cord Injuries. If you are interested in “the cutting-edge techniques being deployed to boost the spinal cord’s capacity to heal”, feel free to check out this short video.