I
want to raise awareness of Spinal Cord Injury and paralysis.
I hope the answers to pondering questions are answered on
this page. If you are also injured or newly injured, feel
free to contact me. It helps to have friends who completely
understand the daily, even hourly struggles we face.
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What
is Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)?
A
spinal cord
injury
usually begins with a sudden, traumatic blow to the
spine that fractures or dislocates vertebrae. The
damage begins at the moment of injury when displaced
bone fragments, disc material, or
ligaments bruise
or tear into spinal cord tissue. 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.
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The
spinal cord is the major bundle of nerves that
carries nerve impulses to and from the brain to the rest of
the body.
Paralysis
is the inability to control the muscles that move the body.
There are several levels of severity associated with
paralysis, including paraplegia and quadriplegia. The
injury, depending on where it is located on the backbone,
will affect movement and sensation
or lead to a complete loss.
Paraplegia
is located as a lower injury like at the thoracic or
upper-back level and will affect just the legs and lower
parts of the body.
Quadriplegia
is an injury to the spine in the cervical or neck level that
can cause paralysis in both the arms and the legs.
Quadriplegia injuries include loss of controlled functions
of the bladder and bowel. It is a serious condition that
requires permanent care.
Myotomes & Dermatomes
Myotomes - Relationship between the
spinal nerve & muscle.
Dermatomes - Relationship between the
spinal nerve & skin.
This basically tells what you have
(movement wise) at each level of injury:
ASIA (American Spinal Injury
Association) Impairment Scale*
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Classification |
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Description |
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A |
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Complete: no motor or sensory
function is preserved below the
level of injury, including the
sacral segments S4 - S5 |
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B |
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Incomplete: sensory, but not
motor, function is preserved
below the neurologic level and
some sensation in the sacral
segments S4 - S5 |
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C |
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Incomplete: motor function is
preserved below the neurologic
level, however, more than half
of key muscles below the
neurologic level have a muscle
grade less than 3 (i.e., not
strong enough to move against
gravity) |
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D |
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Incomplete: motor function is
preserved below the neurologic
level, and at least half of key
muscles below the neurologic
level have a muscle grade of 3
or more (i.e., joints can be
moved against gravity)
|
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E |
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Normal: motor and sensory
functions are normal |
* Used with
permission of the American Spinal Injury
Association.
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COMPLETE Vs.
INCOMPLETE
Spinal cord
injuries are classified as either incomplete or complete.
An incomplete injury means that the ability of the spinal
cord to convey messages to or from the brain is not
completely lost. People with incomplete injuries retain some
motor or sensory function below the injury. Incomplete
injuries can be sometimes be cured with the help of therapy
and stem
cells. This has been proven in Russia through the use of
Adult stem cells.
A complete
injury is indicated by a total lack of sensory and motor
function below the level of injury.
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.
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.
Approximately
450,000
people live
with SCI in the US. Quadriplegia is slightly more common.
With SCI come
other potential concerns, such as:
Posture
problems such as rounded shoulders or slouching can occur, which can lead to
smaller lung capacity.
I
rregular heart beat, low blood pressure,
and muscle spasms.
More susceptible to blood clots, heart problems, and
possible pneumonia. "
People
with spinal cord injuries are at triple the usual risk for
blood clots
(MediceneNet)."
Increased
number and severity of respiratory infections due to diminished
ability to cough.
Increased
number of
urinary tract infections and
yeast infections for females.
Muscle tone
will decrease--particularly in the areas that are no longer
used.
Unless
standing regularly, the feet will tend to drop (see
footdrop).
If
quadriplegia, typically you will need a tool to eat, write, and
use the computer.
General
decrease in exercise which will lead to an increase in weight.
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Pressure sores |
A pressure sore is any redness or break in the skin
caused by too much pressure on your skin for too long a
period of time. The pressure prevents blood from getting
to your skin so the skin dies... |
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Bladder care and
management |
After a spinal cord injury, messages can no longer
travel normally between the bladder or sphincter muscles
and the brain. Individuals usually can not feel when the
bladder is full or they do not have the "urge" to
urinate. The methods most frequently used for SCI
individuals are intermittent catheterization (ICP) and
indwelling catheter (Foley);
I have a
Foley.
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Autonomic Dysreflexia
 |
Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD)
is a potentially dangerous complication of spinal cord
injury SCI. In AD, an individual's blood pressure may
rise to dangerous levels and if not treated can lead to
stroke and possibly death. Individuals with SCI at the
T-6 level or above are at greater risk. AD usually
occurs because of a noxious (irritating) stimulus below
the level of the injury. Symptoms include horrible
headaches, facial flush, extreme perspiration, and a
stuffy nose. |
Spasms
"A
spasm is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group
of muscles, or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden
contraction
of an orifice. It is sometimes accompanied by a sudden burst of
pain, but is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes" (Wikipedia).
"Many
of our reflex movements are controlled by the spinal cord but
regulated by the brain. When the spinal cord is damaged,
information from the brain can no longer regulate reflex
activity. Reflexes may become exaggerated over time, causing
spasticity" (MediceneNet).
Being injured at
C6, I have constant acute-severe spasms in my body, majorly in
my legs. But a lot of the time, it begins in the toes and shoots
up my body to my spine and all the way to my neck. Sometimes
when I get into bed after a long day sitting in my chair, my
spasms can be so bad that it can almost tense up my entire body
to where it hinders my breathing.
HYPERTHERMIA &
HYPOTHERMIA
The temperature of a
SCI individual has an increased tendency to fluctuate according
to the temperature of the environment. If you are in a hot room
your temperature may increase (hyperthermia) or, if you are in a
cold room, your temperature may decrease (hypothermia). This
occurs because of the altered function of the autonomic nervous
system. The higher the level of injury, the greater the tendency
for fluctuations in your body temperature.
