A Serious Spinal Injury

Spinal cord injury is a sudden and devastating event for patients. The injury can be extremely debilitating and it may require a significant alteration in lifestyle post injury. P.R. has sustained a relatively high level (C6) spinal cord injury, which makes him very limited functional capacity. He will go through grieving process followed by anger for the loss of function and independence. This may be especially difficult for P.R. because he is a young man in his thirties who sustained a debilitating injury in a foreign country without any support from family and friends. Spinal cord injury has left P.R. unable to move his entire lower extremities and trunk muscles. He is unable to do the most basic activities, such as feeding and bowel movement without the help of a caregiver. For a young man who was active and completely independent, it is very difficult to accept this reality. It should also be noted that most of the nursing staff are females, which further damages his male ego for having total dependence.

Now that I have shared a brief overview of the spinal cord and some statistics about spinal cord injuries, we will look at the past research that has led to the treatments most commonly used today. In 1990, a steroid called dexamethasone was discovered in human trials to preserve some motor and sensory function if administered at high doses within 8 hours of injury. Surgery used to remove fluid, tissue, or bone fragments, or to stabilize fractured vertebrae by fusing bones or inserting hardware has also proven to be one of the most thorough measures to prevent further harm. I received both of these treatments after my accident, and they are the same that have been used for the past decade. Until recently, doctors had no way of limiting such disabilities, aside from stabilizing the cord to prevent added destruction, treating infections, and prescribing rehabilitative therapy to maximize any remaining capabilities.

     This essay is not intended to criticize any emergency medical or hospital staff. I am writing this essay out of concern for patients who come into the emergency room that may have a jeopardized spinal cord resulting from an injury or suspected injury to their cervical spine. I am a certified emergency medical technician, farm-medic instructor and currently a medical diagnostic student doing clinicial's. In the United States each year there are approximately 10,000 reported cervical spine injuries that come into emergency rooms. Motor vehicle accidents account for approximately 45%, falls approximately 30%, the remaining 25% from sports and miscellaneous. Although only a small amount of

Spine injuries hurt a lot for example your spine can pop outback this up. 2-100,000 get spine injuries.

The central nervous system is what connects the brain to the muscles of the body. When a patient has an injury to the spinal cord, movements in certain parts of the body will be affected based on the location of the injury. If the injury affects hand motion then many day to day tasks are affected. This literature review seeks to understand how an injury to the spinal cord impacts movement, and what has been done so far to help those affected by spinal cord injuries.

Injuries to the spine and spinal cord can lead to other health problems. Cardiovascular issues, along with deep vein thrombosis are all associated with spinal injuries if not treated correctly. Patients suffering from joint and back pain can benefit from Stem Cell Moore to help relieve inflammation and nerve damage that comes along with the injury.

In the United States, there are approximately 17,000 new cases of spinal cord injuries every year and it is estimated that as of the year 2016 approximately 282,000 people in the United States have an injury to the spinal cord to some degree (NSCISC 2016). The diagnosis of a spinal cord injury includes any damage to the spinal cord, including the nerves associated with it. This kind of injury causes permanent damage to the body by a decrease in strength, sensation, and body functions (Shroff et al. 2017). Spinal cord injuries are particularly hard to treat because each injury is different and the cells associated with the spinal cord are hard to target and treat. In most cases, no improvement functionally is made and the symptoms are permanent.

Having a spinal cord injury can be a very life changing event in many ways. It can affect the ability to function in different daily activities. Spinal cord injury mostly affects people during their early adult 19 years old and an average age at the time of injury of 38 (National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center 2006). Since a spinal cord injury affects all systems of the human body, a lot of people who end up with a spinal injury have serious inquires about how their injuries will affect their performance in a sexual relationship. The way you feel about sex and the ability to have sex is important and is different for everyone. Having injury to the spinal cord will have some effect on sexual functions in the body. The level of which sexual

They are client- directed which means taking their direction from, and responding to the unique needs of the people they serve. In addition, they are culturally aware serving Alberta’s diverse population in all regions of the province. Leaders in spinal cord injury they are demonstrating excellence and impact by achieving positive outcomes for individuals and communities. They are also a dynamic organization integrating best practices in charitable and business governance models. They are also having a solid reputation among their organization with all staff and volunteers and good relationships with other community leaders and decision-makers.

Spinal cord injury is a serious problem that effects close to 250,000 people in the United States with 10,000 people being injured per year . There are many things that can lead to spinal cord injury, including athletic injuries, car accidents, and recreational activities like swimming and biking. It primarily effects those between the ages of 16 and 30 and drastically effects the rest of their lives. It is a very debilitating injury that requires extensive medical care, often leaves the patients in a great deal of pain for the rest of their lives(2), and the treatment of which costs $10 billion dollars a year in the US.(facts from site 1) With all of these factors spurring research on there is a strong drive to

Spinal immobilization has been a common practice in Emergency Medical Services. The act of spinal immobilization is normally used when a patient has suffered a significant trauma. Spinal immobilization consists of securing the body to a rigid, long spinal board, securing the neck with a cervical collar, and then lastly, securing the head to the board between towels or wedges. Initially starting with the effectiveness of backboarding, continuing into the vital functions that backbaording can impede and finalizing with the vacuum mattress versus the traditional backboard. Ultimately, spinal immobilization of all trauma patients can do more harm than good, and all cases should not be fully immobilized.

This paper will speak of, women with spinal cord injury (SCI) and the changes in their sexual function in both physical and emotional. It is common for women with spinal cord injury to be unsure as to whether or not they can give or receive sexual pleasure. Some people may experience a loss of self-satisfaction, confidence and self-worth. As time continues to pass, women who experience spinal cord injury begin to express great appreciation for sexuality. This paper will explain the opportunities for sexual exploration among disabled women, particularly the young, were it can be very limited. I will cover the general reduction in life choices and its impact on self-esteem, which in turn affects sexuality by making the tendency of a woman with

The first pt we observed was Brent Lawerance a 29 yr old male who suffered a C4-C5 incomplete spinal cord injury. The pt presented to the clinic with his mother and father who were supportive which is important to note about the pt’s family life. The pt became quadriplegic following a motocross accident in 2005. The accident left the pt paralyzed from C3 and below. He was referred to therapy 4 years following the accident. During the treatment session, Dr. Morgan first decided to work on locomotor training utilizing a harness to help with unloading the pt’s body weight while walking on the treadmill. According to a study done on mice, there is evidence of benefits of exercising paralyzed limbs after SCI1. The article stated you can increase

The spine is connected to all the organs and many different pains are caused by spine problems. We often start treating the disease, instead of the spine.

A review of the literature regarding spinal immobilisation has been undertaken using databases for PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, OVID and Cochrane EBM. Reviews were electronically searched using the subject headings “spinal injuries”, “spinal immobilisation” and “management of spinal injuries”. The results generated by the search were limited to English language articles and reviewed for relevance to the topic. The aim of this literature review is to compare and contrast the views on spinal immobilisation and to achieve a better knowledge of evidence based practice.