Spinal Cord Injuries
Our spinal cord is well protected so injuries to this area are usually the result of indirect trauma. These are likely due to:
– hyperextension of the neck
– hyperflexion of the neck
– vertical compression secondary to falls on the head or buttocks.
The common sites of injuries to the spinal cord are the:
– 12th dorsal
– 1st lumbar
-5th and 6th cervical
– and 1st and 2nd cervical vertebrae
Patients with spinal cord injuries will complain of the following symptoms:
– early paraplegia, transient loss of function below the injured segment
– reflexes are absent for a variable period of time and if the reflexes will not return then the spinal cord distal to the injury may have been affected because of vascular insufficiency
– there could be flaccidity
– bladder paralysis
In cases where the transection of the cord is complete, there is a spinal shock affecting distal segments.
There could be a complete loss of motor and sensory function and complete areflexia right after the injury.
Those patients who are having the clinical manifestations of a spinal cord injury should be managed immediately by the experts like the neurologists or the neurosurgeons.
There must be special care in handling and transporting of injured individuals so as not to aggravate the problem.
The prognosis of this type of injury depends upon the extent of the transection.
In general, improvement occurs during the first 6 months and little or none after a year.