Vertical Column: The Cervical Cord In The Body

The spine is one of the most important structures in the human body. The spine is located in the dorsal cavity and consists of 24 bones, called vertebrae. These vertebrae play a crucial role in protected the body’s command center, the spinal cord. But what happens when a disorder prevents the spinal column from functioning correctly? Scoliosis is a musculoskeletal disorder that causes abnormal lateral curvature of the spine and it effects millions of people in the US per year. I have chosen this disorder because I am aspiring to become a chiropractor and scoliosis is a typical condition that chiropractors help treat on a daily basis.

     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

Any type of collision can cause a neck injury; however, whiplash is commonly associated with car accidents. A whiplash injury occurs when the head is flung back and forth abruptly. This action can cause the muscles and ligaments supporting the head, and spine to stretch or tear. Furthermore, this forceful movement can cause the vertebrae in the individual’s neck to become misplaced, which can decrease its range of motion. In addition, the soft, jellylike disc located between the vertebrae may herniate or bulge. Should this happen, pressure may be placed on the nerves and tissues surrounding the effected vertebrae and disc, leading to pain.

To understand cervical spinal stenosis, one must understand the process of disc degeneration and the effect it has on your spine. As people age, the disc between the vertebra begin to lose a percentage of its water contact, thus effecting its ability to absorb shock. At first, the changes occur in the annulus of the disc (Cervical Spinal Stenosis, 2013). These tears in the outer ring of the disc might not caused any symptoms and heal by the formation of scar tissue. However, if this scar tissue is repeatedly subject to tears, it wears down and loses all its ability to absorb shock.

Patient lost consciousness and awoke in the hospital. Radiograph were performed; x-rays of the chest, cervical spine, and lumbar spine as well. Results indicated fracture at the right transverse process of L4 vertebra and no significant findings in the cervical spine. However, upon referral with a diagnosis of cervical strain and lumbar strain three weeks after the accident. He presents in the clinic stating increased dizziness, headaches, and unable to move his neck. Pain is intolerable and pain medications did not make any difference. Per patient, unable to sleep owing to increased pain in the neck radiating to his spine. Upon assessment, increased a sharp pain in the bottom of the neck with tingling and numbness radiating to the side of her little finger. Pain is unrelieved with rest. HE also demonstrates weakness in his grip strength and always drops his objects when he tries to grip

The brain, spinal cord, and nerves which make up the nervous system is a very complex system. One of the many differences which makes the nervous system more special than the other systems is that it extends throughout the whole body. it makes us sense by sending signals from one cell to another. The brain by itself is amazing and intriguing, but sometimes the problems that happen to the brain can be much more interesting. When a part of the brain fails or dies, or even change, it can change the whole life of a human being. For instance, let us look at psychopathy. psychopaths lack empathy, remorse and many other things. A lot of people think that sociopaths want to be cruel, which is not the case. it just that the part of the brain that involves emotion is dead. So what happens to the brain when one

Spinal cord injuries result from a fracture or dislocation of the vertebrae that is typically due to a sudden, forceful blow to the spine (“NINDS Spinal Cord Injury Information Page”, 2016). According to Early (2006), A traumatic accident, such as a shooting, stabbing, car accident, or diving accident, may result in a spinal cord injury (p. 535). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2016), Damage to the spinal tissue results from displaced or shards of vertebral bone fragments, damaged ligaments, or discs that bruise or tear the delicate tissue and destroy axons. Destruction of axons result in the inability to carry signals from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body (“NINDS Spinal Cord Injury

When these sensitive nervous strands experience serious trauma this can cause the spinal cord strands to partially sever or sever entirely, causing the victim to be either paraplegic (when patient loses function from waist down) or quadriplegic (when patient loses function from shoulders down). This is caused when the signals are unable to pass through to the rest of the cord due to the nervous strands of the cord being detached or severed, but in some cases the spinal cord is still halve attached and can still receive and sent faint signals. This such injury can be caused by many circumstances such as sporting injuries, traumatic injury to the face, neck, head, chest, or back, electric shock and falling from extreme heights, just to surface a few.

When you choose the top cervical spine surgeons Plano TX, you can guarantee the best care, the best results, and the best recovery possible. Removing a herniated or deficient disc and replacing it with an artificial one (a discectomy, to be exact) is no small undertaking, though--even the most discreet surgery can involve a substantial recovery. Here are the basics of the surgery (not for the squeamish!), the results, and the recovery.

Spinal cord trauma affects a multitude of individuals globally. Many common spinal cord injuries occur frequently from motor vehicle accidents, athletics, falls, and disease and are not curable (Center NSCISC 2013). Depending on the area that is damaged, there are numerous consequences of spinal cord injuries that affect the body in different ways. As individuals age, their susceptibility to such injuries significantly increases and is frequently caused by falling. However, anyone is susceptible to spinal cord trauma. In the United States, 906 individuals per one million have some sort of spinal cord injury. The peak age of those affected is younger than thirty and the elderly. The most prevalent reason comes from automobile accidents and

Your spine is composed of a bundle of nerves that run from your neck down to your hip area. These nerves play a vital role in transmitting information between your brain and the rest of your body. The nerves are protected by vertebrae, which are a series of individual bones with openings between them so nerves can connect to your various muscles. The bones are padded with cartilage discs that absorb shock so you can bend, twist, and jump without pain. When you're in an auto accident, a blow to the back, sudden jarring, or quick twisting movement of your spine can cause one of the nerves to become compressed. That means pressure is put on the nerve

vThe spinal cord is well-protected anatomically with barriers, vertebra, muscles of the back, and the meninges. A considerable force is required to cause trauma to the neural tissue of the spinal cord. This can be laceration or maceration by a sharp penetrating object; contusion or compression, the most common form of spinal cord injury; or infarct by vascular insult. All of these injury forces begin the process of tissue destruction we term the primary injury.

Next, vertebrae of a healthy person are strong and have many functions. Vertebrae column support the head, protect the spinal cord, and serve as the attachment point for the muscles of the back, ribs, and pelvic girdle. As vertebrae become weak, they may break then the bones will collapse on top of each other. This condition is called as the compression fracture. As the vertebrae collapsed on each other, the intervertebral discs between the vertebral body will compress. Each disc has an outer fibrous ring consisting of fibrocartilage called the annulus fibrosus. The discs also have an inner soft and the highly elastic substance called as nucleus pulposus. Under compression, the nucleus pulposus which is the inner core of the intervertebral

The spine has three primary functions: stability, protection of essential internal organs and nerves, and range of motion. Without the spine humans would not be able to carry out many everyday functions such as standing up straight, bending over, twisting in different directions, or even walking. In addition, important components, such as the spinal cord, would go unprotected. The spine is literally the backbone for the make-up of our bodies.

A secondary factor contributing to the patient’s death by blunt force trauma is the dislocation of the atlanto-axial and atlanto-occipital joints. “Traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation (AOD) results from a severe ligamentous injury, which usually has either a fatal or a potentially devastating outcome. Patients frequently succumb to a cervicomedullary injury from AOD at the site of the accident”. “Because of the relatively wide cross-sectional area of the spinal canal at the craniocervical junction, spinal cord injury is less common than expected. However, when present, neurological injury from AOD can be devastating, often leading to sudden death secondary to brainstem injury. Neural injury may be direct, as a result of traction or compression mechanisms, or indirect, secondary to cerebrovascular injury leading to