Spinal injuries are one of the most prevalent problems in the human body. Damage to the spinal cord can happen in various ways. In fact, within your spine, the lumbar region in the lower back and the cervical region in your neck are the most vulnerable. If you have sustained a spinal injury, it is vital to talk to a medical professional regarding this; you could then pursue care from experienced spine surgeons to try and elevate your pain.
What are the 4 main troubles you need to know about Spinal Injuries
What is spinal cord injury?
A spinal cord injury is any damage to the spinal cord that leads to a loss of function. This functional deprivation can hinder mobility and physical sensation. As surprising as it may sound, the spinal cord isn’t always severed when it comes to these impairments. Most cases of these injuries have people with their spinal cords fully intact. Thus, this body part is one of the most crucial in your body, making it essential for you to ensure that it’s functioning suitably.
Before you can seek medical help such as seeing Dr Timothy Steel, you have to reflect on what could have caused your injury. We will discuss the most common causes down below to jog your memory.
Common Causes
Any damage to the vertebrae, discs of the spinal cord, or ligaments can cause spinal cord complications. In the case of a traumatic injury, the spine could suffer a sudden blow that crushes, compresses, dislocates, or fractures a single or multiple vertebrae.
A non-traumatic injury could be the result of conditions such as arthritis, inflammation, or spinal disc degeneration. Whatever the cause may be, additional damage can occur over the following days. This problem is the usual result of bleeding, inflammation, swelling, and fluid accumulation around the injury. Nevertheless, here are the most common causes of spinal injuries:
- Auto vehicle accidents: Due to being the leading cause of these injuries, motor accidents happen regularly. The force-filled impact from a car crash can disorient you in many ways. Unfortunately, innumerable people on the road fail to follow traffic guidelines. This carelessness puts other people at risk of physical harm. You might find it surprising that almost half of the yearly spinal cord injuries involve road accidents.
- Sports activities: There are loads of sports activities that are highly physical. Even though you give your all on the sports pitch, it can negatively affect your body. Many athletic activities, such as high-impact sports and shallow water diving, cause approximately 10% of spinal complications.
- Lifestyle: Every individual leads a different way of life. Some people don’t even have the willpower to get out of bed, while others rarely stay in it. Furthermore, many individuals have occupations that require physical labor as well. Even though there isn’t anything wrong with having an active lifestyle, your body can only bear so much. At one point or another, the physical strain starts to get to you, and it can affect your spinal cord.
- Diseases: If you happen to be suffering from some disease, your spine may also be in trouble. Even though they’re not sudden and traumatic, diseases like arthritis and cancer can gradually deteriorate spinal health.
Further Complications
At the beginning of a spinal cord injury, you might find the change in your body’s functions a little overwhelming. Multiple areas that can be affected are:
- Bowel movement: Even though the stomach and intestines will function similarly to the way they did before your injury, the same isn’t applicable for bowel movements. After the spinal cord damage, there could be a loss of voluntary function in the sphincter muscles.
- Bladder control: The bladder continues to store urine from the kidneys, regardless of the brain’s electrical impulses. However, the brain’s control over your bladder can undoubtedly decrease. If the spinal cord injury causes ineffective transmission along the nerves, you could experience several complications. Any changes in bladder control can lead to urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and kidney stones.
- Skin sensations: Depending on where your spinal injury is, the peripheral nerves in your skin might become useless. If your body has to initiate a reflex arc, the peripheral nerves must ensure their electrical signals reach the brain. Unfortunately, spinal injuries could spell trouble for the central nervous system within it. Likewise, when the transmissions don’t transfer to the brain, the skin can’t involuntarily pull away on stimuli such as heat, cold, or prolonged pressure.
- Circulation control: If you have a spinal cord injury, you might suffer from various circulatory problems. These complications can range from low blood pressure to swelling at your body’s extremities. Any deviation from standard-level circulation increases the risk of developing blood clots like a pulmonary embolus or deep vein thrombosis. Apart from blood clotting, you could also acquire hyperreflexia, a possibly life-threatening blood pressure elevation.
- Respiratory tract: If your injuries have affected abdominal and chest muscles, you might find it difficult to breathe and cough. These muscles include the diaphragm and the ones in your chest wall. To determine the extent of the respiratory damage, you have to look at your injury’s neurological state. For example, any damage in the thoracic and cervical regions of the spine could cause pneumonia, amongst other lung complications.
- Wellness: Soon after a spinal cord injury, weight loss and muscle atrophy aren’t uncommon. Due to the limited movement, your skeletal muscle cells shrink in size. This atrophy leads to an overall loss in muscle size. Furthermore, the switch to a quiet lifestyle increases your risk of suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other obesity-related issues. So, apart from the physical aspect of wellness, some people find it hard to cope with all the changes. Living with constant pain and adjusting to the complications of spinal injuries can lead to depression.
- Sexual health: The loss of sexual function is a very prevalent result of spinal conditions. As far as males are concerned, there are noticeable changes in erections and ejaculation. On the other hand, females may have to deal with changes in lubrication.
- Pain: Just like every other injury, spinal cord injuries pack a painful punch as well. Depending on the cause of your injury, inflammation can affect the surrounding nerves or tissues. The resulting pain could leave you needing medical attention for your back or an immediate neck decompression.
When Should You See a Doctor
When seeking effective pain management solutions and comprehensive care for spinal injuries, Neuragenex – Pain Management Clinic – Lawrenceville offers specialized expertise and services. They understand the intricacies of spinal cord injuries and can provide tailored treatment plans to help individuals regain function, manage pain, and enhance their quality of life.
The ability to control limbs after a spine injury is influenced by the injury’s location and severity. This is where receiving care becomes crucial. The injury’s neurological level signifies the lowest normal part of the spinal cord. Severity is gauged by the completeness of complications, which is categorized into two parts.
- Incomplete: If you have some leftover sensory or motor control below the affected area, the injury is half-done for now. However, there are varying levels of incomplete injury.
- Complete: If all sensory and motor control under the spinal cord injury is lost, the complications have reached their extremity.
If you feel your symptoms are getting worse, you should get immediate medical help. Upon diagnosis, a doctor like Dr Timothy Steel can determine the neurological levels and completeness of your injuries.
Treatment
Trusting every other medical practitioner with your spinal cord injury treatment is risky because each problem has different requirements. But after your physical assessment, you can get in touch with the appropriate medical professional who’s suitable for your situation.
- Chiropractic care: Even though this is a popular and non-invasive method, finding the right chiropractor can be difficult. You might be asking yourself, “Where can I find good chiropractors near me?” All you need to do is pick up your phone and check out the best-recommended professionals from the Internet. Due to their physical manipulation techniques, chiropractors can relieve pain by making subtle spinal adjustments to alleviate pressure from surrounding nerves. You even get a recommendation of exercises that slowly build up your strength.
- A visit to the neurologist: If your spinal injury has left you with inflammation and nerve damage, a neurologist might be what you need. Thanks to highly effective trigger point injections, your muscle pain and inflammation should dissipate. Moreover, they might also implement nerve blocks or epidural treatment to address nerve pain.
- Surgery: Even though it isn’t preferable, this treatment is the last option. Underlying spinal injury problems might resolve by:
- Spinal cord surgery
- Spinal laser surgery
- Spinal stenosis surgery
- Cervical spine injury
Final Thoughts
If your back pain isn’t showing any signs of dying down, now might be the time to act. With so many treatment options available, wouldn’t it be better to put this persistent pain behind you? Before your spinal cord injury gets any worse, receive the appropriate medical care and move forward in your life.
