Spinal Cord Injury
The spinal cord is the information superhighway of the body, it allows communication between the brain and the rest of the body.
After spinal cord injury, the highway is damaged and the brain is unable to send signals to the relevant part of the body it wishes to function. As a result the person with the spinal cord injury loses sensory function and muscle control below the point of the injury.
The level of disability and paralysis depends on the level of the spinal cord injury. A general rule of thumb is the higher the level of the damage to the spine the higher the level of paralysis. For example.
1. A person who severs the spinal cord at the neck, or ‘cervical’, level will be rendered “tetraplegic”. Another word for this is “quadriplegic”. That means the person will be paralysed in their arms and legs and will not have control over their bladder and bowel movements. This person will require a wheelchair to move around and normally 24hr a day assistance from a carer to help with most domestic and personal hygiene issues. If the break is very high up in the neck the person shall require help to breathe, this can be achieved with the assistance of a ventilator. The person will also lose sexual function as a result of their spinal cord injury.
2. A person who damages their spine by severing the cord in the back area, known as the ‘thoracic’ and ‘lumbar’ regions, will be left “paraplegic”. That means the person will be paralysed in their legs and will not have control over their bladder and bowel movements. This person will also require a wheelchair to move around, however they will not require the same level of assistance with domestic and personal hygiene issues from a carer as a tetraplegic may need. As with tetraplegics a paraplegic person will lose sexual function.
3. The exception to the rule of the higher the injury the higher the level of paralysis is where injury to the spinal cord is ‘incomplete’. This is the situation where there has not been a complete sever to the spinal cord and injury has allowed parts of the information superhighway to continue functioning in some way. As the extent of this damage can vary greatly so can the way it impacts upon a person’s function. For example a person may still have the ability to walk after an incomplete spinal cord injury but not retain control over their bowel or bladder movements. Further a person with a severe high level incomplete spinal injury may have more physical limitations than a complete paraplegic wheelchair user.
As you can see each spinal cord injury is unique and brings with it its own personal challenges. Our approach as friends, family, legal and medical experts to dealing with the injured person must vary accordingly.
There are many affects a spinal cord injury can have on a person. Not only does the person lose sensation and motor function, they can also suffer the following:
· A reduction in bowel and bladder control
· Sexual Dysfunction
· Spasticity
· Neuropathic Pain
· Atrophy of muscle
· Osteoporosis
· Gall bladder and renal stones
Treatment of spinal cord injury is still in development, however it is making good progress and it is believed that there are now two viable methods.
The first is known as Chondroitinase treatment, and involves the production of the chondroitinase bacteria, which attacks scarred tissue. The reason why this is important is because when a spinal cord injury occurs, the spinal cord scars around the injury, which means that nerve tissue cannot regenerate the spinal cord properly. This is an extremely new way to treat spinal cord injury.
The second form of treatment is stem cell treatment. It is believed that stem cells are the basis of all cells and can be influenced to grow different parts of the body. Experts are trying to generate spinal cord nerve tissue in order to try and repair the damage done by the spinal cord injury.
