Injuries can happen to anyone, anywhere. Injuries affect people’s lives as they limit their choices, temporarily or permanently. Most injuries are not preventable, because most happen unexpectedly. For example, spinal cord injuries can occur if a person falls abruptly on his/her back and shatters their spinal cord. Although injuries cannot be prevented, they can be healed. New technologies are under development to solve major injuries, which do not yet have a cure. One of these major injuries is a spinal cord injury.
The human body consists of many important systems. The nervous system is one of these that ensure survival of a person. The nervous system is split into two main parts. The spinal cord and the brain make up the Central
…show more content…
This results in either a loss of sensation, or a loss of perception. According to the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry, vehicle accidents make up 46% of spinal cord injuries. Acts of violence (from knife wounds or gun shots) make up 11% of spinal cord injuries. Falls and sports injuries make up 24%, industrial accidents (damages from chemicals) make up 5%, and other injuries (such as inflammation of the spinal cord) make up 14% of spinal cord injuries. The survival rate is reasonably high for those suffering from spinal cord injuries, but life will never be normal again. Since the connection between the brain and the receptor or effector is damaged, stimulations may not be interpreted or signals may not reach the effector. This might result in loss of balance, coordination, loss of sensation, uncontrolled movements, and paralysis.
It is important to note that nerves in the CNS do not regenerate, while nerves in the PNS do regenerate. This is why when a person gets a cut; it completely heals in several days. But a person with spinal cord injury cannot completely heal because spinal cord does not contain neurilemma, a membrane that promotes regeneration of neurons. It was thought that the neurons would not regenerate once damaged. However, research has found that they do indeed have the ability to regenerate if scars do not obstruct the regenerative process. Scars are the result of astrocytes and
* Following a SCI, the first priority is often to help the patient develop as much possible strength in the
Injuries to the spinal cord may be caused indirectly, as by a blow to the head or a fall; by traffic accidents, sports injuries, or violence. The consequences depend on the amount of damage the cord sustains and where the damage occurs. Although spinal injuries are only a small fraction of all injuries; accidents cause an estimated 10,000 spinal cord injuries each year. Each year, more than two million Americans suffer a
The nervous system in general is quite a complex and sophisticated system which is responsible for regulating and coordinating the body’s activities. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, mainly responsible for gathering information and responds to any changes within environment.
(modified from a case study by Patrick Field, Kean University and Tom Cappaert, Central Michigan University)
There are about a quarter of a million people in the United States living with spinal cord injuries. In addition, between 7,600 and 10,000 new injuries occur each year. Nearly half of these new injuries will occur in young people between the ages of 16 and 30. As a person in this category, I have become very interested in the research to find a cure for spinal cord injuries and hope to share some of the information I found with you today. In order for you to fully understand the details I will be sharing with you, I'd like to begin with a
Football is known as the most popular sport in America. But, little people know about the “Silent Killer.” Football injuries are all too common, one of which being Spinal Cord Injuries. Nobody understands how devastating Spinal Cord Injuries can actually be, until it’s too late.
Five criteria must be met which includes authority, information, objectivity, ease of navigation and privacy and security policies. The website used for my research was www.christopherreeve.org. The website met the five criteria. Authority was displayed in several ways. The author, Judith Lubinsky is qualified as an expert in the spinal cord injury field. Judith is responsible for web production and social media for the website. The contact information and credentials for the author was clearly stated. Information is updated daily to keep readers informed of any changes. The information posted is accurate and appropriate for the intended audience. The author provides an unbiased comprehensive review of spinal cord injuries and management. The sponsor for the website is The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The source of funding does not have an impact on the information provided. The website provides easy navigation with reliable information, treatment options, clinical trials and ways to get involved. The website provided clear privacy and security
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
The thickness of the spinal cord varies in thickness depending on the area of the vertebral column and parts of the body supplied. It swells out in both the areas of the cervical and lumber regions, where at these points it supports the large nerve supply to the limbs. Known as the cervical and lumbar enlargements. The cord itself consist of a deep cleft both at the back and the front, here it is almost completely divided into a right and left side like that of the cerebrum. If you were to view a section of the spinal cord which had been cut cross-sectionally you would be able to see a butterfly-shaped region, which would appear grey in colour and surrounded by white matter. Found on the outside of the cord, the white matter consist of bundles of nerve fibres called axons. The axons extend the length of the spinal cord supporting communication of the CNS. Each bundle of nerve fibres are responsible for specific types of information they can transmit ascending signals towards the brain and descending signals from the brain to neurons in various muscles and glands throughout the body. Found inside the spinal cord is the grey matter, this is the butterfly-shaped region containing four projectile shapes known as horns, the two which project forwards are known as the anterior horns(ventral) and the two facing backwards are referred to as the(dorsal)
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
Most spinal cord injuries are hard to treat due to the fragility of the vertebrae as a whole. Although; if left untreated, spinal cord injuries could affect motor and nerve control and function (Zhao et.al 2016). Stem injections are now commonly used as a type of rehabilitative medicine for injuries like those in the spine. This is because stem cells can take form of other specified cells it becomes exposed to. Once injected into the area of the injury, the cells are able to replicate and serve to renew the cells that have been lost or damaged. Three different studies done on rats were observed for the effects of outside variables, such as time and contents, on the efficiency of stem cell treatments. In one study, rats with the spinal cord
The central nervous system consist of the brain and spinal cord. The brain plays a crucial role and is a significant function of the nervous system by using information from our senses to tell us what is going on around us, and how we should respond. Although, the brain has an essential purpose it is my belief that the spinal cord is the most important. It’s the center of many spinal reflexes, and can participate in reflex actions without checking with the brain. The spinal cord communicates with the brain it sends messages if damaged it can affect other body functions such as breathing, hormone release, body temperature, bowel and bladder, movement of food through the stomach and intestines. Messages, touch, transmitting pain movement, joints,
According to Chiles and Cooper (1996) spinal injury should always be suspected in patients with severe systemic trauma, patients