Nov 05, 2013 in News Spinal Injury

Spinal Injury: Spinal cord injuries will change your life in many ways

[caption id="attachment_5432" align="alignright" width="300"] (Photo credit: betacam/RGBstock.com)[/caption] Your spine is made up of 33 vertebrae each of them held together by ligaments attached to both sides of the spine with disks between all of them that absorb pressure from movement. Beneath the vertebrae is the spinal cord ? the most important part of the spine that needs extra protection. Your spinal cord is the little path that your brain uses as a middle man to send its messages to any part of your body. It's no wonder that when your spinal cord gets damaged other body parts are affected. There are many things involved in understanding your spinal cord injury. Muscle movement, sensation and touch become altered when your spinal cord gets damaged and often, so does your circulation, respiratory, bowel and bladder functions. If you become paraplegic after your spinal injury, you lose motor function in your legs and trunk. Quadriplegia is when spinal cord lesion occurs around the neck, which cuts off sensation to the arms, legs, trunk and chest. While there are common diseases and birth defects that cause these injuries, many spinal lesions happen from traumatic incidents such as car crashes, falls and sports injuries. According to Spinal Cord Injury B.C., 44,000 of 85,556 people living with spinal injuries in Canada were results of trauma. To add to this, accidents add an additional 1,786 new injuries each year. This is an extreme type of injury and adjusting to it can be quite difficult. Pain is one of the first things that a person with this injury experiences. Most people face acute pain that dwindles as the body recovers. When experiencing pain, it is best to not ignore it. You should see a doctor, get a treatment plan in place to deal with it and not push your limits. Also, address your emotions. Depression is not uncommon in coping with this experience. If you show signs of depression, get help so that it doesn't make your pain worse. The spinal cord is the middle man between your brain and every body part. In damaging it, other parts of your body suffer too. Your respiratory system, skin, bladder, and sexual health are just a few things that may change. Pressure sores are red skin irritations or breakages that show up on areas of the skin that have had too much pressure on them. This happens when a person is sitting or lying in the same position for too long. When this happens to a person that doesn't have a spinal cord injury, the skin will signal to the brain that it's uncomfortable and the brain will then tell you to change your position. However, the spinal cord lesion blocks this message and the person will not adjust their position. Blood flow and oxygen continues to be cut off from that area of the skin, which is how the sore is caused. If you have had an accident and are now coping with a spinal cord injury, your life has been significantly changed. Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers are here for you and have been handling all types of injuries for over 40 years. We understand the impacts they can have on you and we can help fight your case. Call us at 416-920-4242. Set up a free consultation and come chat with us.